Reading the Future Con
by LexaBaby318
Summary: Sooo after a long hiatus, and loosing my account, i'm finally continuing this story! Enjoy :) [original summary: Yes it is another "Characters Read Vampire Academy books" but with a twist. The books haven't happened yet. How will Rose&Dimitri act to their romance? How will everybody else? Why don't you just read to find out. RxD]
1. Chapter 1

**So,hey! yeah i meant to do this FOREVER ago! Well when i was ready to come back after my hiatus [which reasons will be in the story which i shall the link to] I couldn't remember the password, or email, so it's unrecoverable :/ so here's the link if you wanna go to it: s/7470860/1/Reading-the-Future though i am posting all the chapters here, and thanks to my lovely sister Cassie (this is her account) for letting me use her account to post this story! She's been using it to post reviews and stuff but she's actually GIVING me her account for this now :D yay! She's still going to us it for some things [I'm not sure if she had any friends on here] but this account is basically mine now :) so LETSCONTINUESHALLWE? **

**oxox, RozaBelikov123 [aka Lexa :) ]**

**ps:all the authors notes you will see are from me in the past :P i will not post another new A/N until the end of the 6 chapters**

_**Chapter **_

**OK So I've had this Idea spinning in my head for a while,What if some of the characters of Vampire academy read the books before they got them? Ohhhh the possibilities! This Takes Place right before chapter one would've started. Rose and Lissa have just returned to their apartment and are about to go to sleep.**

**Disclaimer: Me: *sneaking around with some duct tape a contract and pen to the mission impossible theme music like a NINJA***

**Richelle Mead: What are you doing?**

**Me: *Drops everything*...Umm...being a Ninja?**

**R.M.: Uh huh. You know Vampire academy is mine right?**

**Me: Can I at least have Dimitri?**

**R.M.: no**

**Me: Adrain?**

**R.M.: No**

**Me: *le sob!***

* * *

**Rose's POV:**

I sighed happily as I sat down on the bed to remove my sneakers. Another day we haven't been caught. I have relaxed a lot in the last three years with no incidents,except for the hounds but we'll get to that later. Me and My best friend, Ms Lissa Dragomir (Yes the Princess LE GASP),were just settling into bed when suddenly a person,I couldn't tell man or woman,Bursted through the window,and Before I could Scream I blacked out.

I awoke to the sound of chitter chatter of a lot of people,some faces recognizable,others not.

"What the Hell is Going on?" I screeched getting the attention of everybody in the room. It wasn't surprising to see some Moroi and Dhampir's. But I did See a human which did surprise me.

"Rose?" Asked a voice and I turned to see non other then the legendary Janine Hathaway.

"Mom?" I asked. "What is going on?" I asked looking around. "And where's Lissa?"

"Right here Rose" Said the voice of my best friend as I ran to give her a hug. I looked around and saw everybody looking confused,or scared. Like the little Moroi girl in the corner or the Human girl looking very uncomfortable. I looked enough more and I tried not to focus on that I was in the same room as THE Christian Ozera. And why the Hell was the Queen here?

"I don't know why were here Rose." said my mom "I just woke up a couple minutes ago with everybody else. I found this Note with your Name on it" She said Handing me a Note that said "_Rose Hathaway_" I starred for a moment before ripping it open and clearing my throat to read.

"_Dear Rose,_

_I'll bet you&everybody else here are wondering why I have you here._"

"You bet your ass we are!" Said some brown-headed Moroi smoking. He winked when I looked at him and I rolled my eyes.

"_Well it's Actually Simple. I Know what's going to happen with-in the next year or so of your life. And I have decided to write them in book form and send them to you._"

"What the hell" I whispered looking at the pile of books on the table.

"_These books are In Rose's Point of View and will hold what can change your future,and even save a couple of your lives. You will read the books in this Order:_  
_Vampire Academy._  
_Frostbite Shadow-Kissed Blood Promise Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice._  
_You can not choose not to read these books. The door is locked and will not open until you read these books. Most of you here will not know why you are here until the third or so book,but having you here is very vital. In-closed with this letter is a list of people who need to be somebody is not here you must wait until they are or the spell of the books [which will go away when you read them] will have no affect and the door will remain close. The room to your right is a kitchen filled with enough food and blood to last you. The hallway ahead of you leads to rooms filled with beds,blankets(and bathroom's so you can shower) ,and Each has a closet so you may change clothes if you like,and no their are no windows so you can't escape. Oh and before you try these walls have been charmed with a spell where nobody,not even the strongest Strigoi could break I suggest if you want to get out of here soon you better start. Read off the attendance (the order it is in is the order you should read in) and get started. Happy reading._

_R.M._"

"Is this some kind of Sick joke?" Screamed some tall Russian guy taking the note from me.

"Well obviously not or we wouldn't be here would we!" I hissed,and he narrowed his eyes. I reached down into the envelop to pull out another piece of paper with names on it. I sighed and begin reading it.

"Rosemarie 'Rose' Hathaway" "Here obviously" I muttered

"Princess Vasilisa 'Lissa' Dragomir" "I'm here" Lissa sighed.

"Guardian Dimitri Belikov" "Here" replied the tall Russian gruffly.

"Christian Ozera" "I wish I wasn't here" Sighed Christian sitting down on the couch. That makes too of us.

"Adrian Ivashkov" "Right here little Dhampir!" Yelled the Brown-headed Smoker from earlier. I sighed. This was gonna be a long however long were here.

"Mason Ashford" "Right here!" Yelled my redheaded Friend. I smiled,at least I wouldn't be enduring this alone...30 minutes Later we were done. Wow what A crowd.

"So let me read the names again to make sure I didn't miss anybody. Me,Lissa,Dimitri Be-whatever" I said with a roll of my eyes as he narrowed his. "Christian,Adrian,Mason,Mia Rinaldi,Tasha Ozera,Mom,Abe Mazur,Sydney Sage,The Queen" I said with a nod of my head to recognize her queenlyness,but secretly wanted to address her as Queen bitch "Jill Mastrano,Headmistress Kirova,Guardian Petrov,Guardian Alto,Olena Belikov,Viktoria Belikov,Yeva Belikov,Karaline Belikov and her son Paul and Daughter Zoya ,and Sonya Belikov." I said out of breath. Every body nodded saying they were here and I picked up the first book "Vampire Academy" To read the Back

"**Lissa Dragomir is a Mori Princess**"

"No shit Sherlock" I muttered to the book.

"**A mortal vampire with an unbreakable bond to the earth's magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest and most dangerous vampires-the ones who never die**."

"Technially you can with a stake" Said that Dimitri guy again showing off his _Molnija_ Marks. He was really starting to get on my nerves.

"**The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa's best friend, makes her a Dhampir; she is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making her one of them.**"

"Again no shit" I muttered,then put a hand on Lissa's shoulder feeling her Shiver.

"**After two years of illicit freedom, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy,**-"

"WE GO BACK?" me and her screech at the same time.

"-**hidden in the deep forests of Montana. Rose will continue her Dhampir education. Lissa will go back to being Queen of the elite Moroi social scene. And both girls will resume breaking hearts**"

Me and Lissa smirked at the last sentence.

" **And never once let their guard down, lest the Strigoi make Lissa one of them forever...** " I think everybody shivered at that one,especially the human girl,I couldn't bother to remember her name. Some Australian city I think. I look around then open up the book

"**Chapter 1..**" I read

* * *

**WELLLLLL whatcha think? lemme know if I should continue,I want some reviews people (:**

**-RozaBelikov123**


	2. Chapter 2

**OH MY GOD YOU GUYS! I need to say this. YOU GUYS ARE THE FRICKEN BOMB. I was expecting 1 or 2 reviews,if I got lucky 3 and then a couple story alerts but my phone (which was hooked to my email) was buzzing all evening with Story alerts,reviews,and even some favorite stories (yayy!) So I am continueing this story and have decided to try and update at least once a week,maybe 2 (I'm a freshman in highschool so I do have my work to do.) Anyways I want to say thanks: THANKS! And I am dedicating this chapter to all my lovley readers (Thats you) Oh and to answer:**

**natnat53: Yes right now she has No idea who most of them are. She reconizes Mason Eddie And the guardians (excluding Dimitri) But other then that the rest are Strangers.**

**Oh and if you guys get the chance Check out my oneshot I just posted On Adrain and Sydey(:**

**ps: Please excuse any spelling mistakes,I am working on getting a Beta,if any of you guys would like to volenteer or suggest anybody please PM me(:**

**Disclaimer: Hey you! admit it**

**Me: Admit what?...**

**DC: That you don't own Vampire academy...c'mon admit it!**

**Me: *Battle cry* NEVERRRRR**

**DC:...I'll give you this Dimitri doll!**

**Me: Can't I Just keep the real Dimitri? 3**

**DC: no**

**Me: Fine! *Snaches Dimitri doll* I don't own vampire academy, D: the lovley Richelle Mead does.**

* * *

Rose's POV:

"Chapter One," I read

"**I felt her fear before I heard her screams.**"

"Uh oh this Don't sound good." I whispered,Lissa Nodded.

"**Her nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream,which had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me.**"

"Woah Little Dhampir,I didn't know you were dreaming of me." Interupted the Smoking Moiri..umm Adrian I think,Grinning I have a feeling he'll be interupting alot.

"**Images hers, not mine tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me,until some rational part of my brain reminded me that this wasn't my dream.**"

I looked at Lissa worringly.

"**"I woke up, strands of long, dark hair sticking to my lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us. "Liss," I said, shaking her. "Liss, wake up."**  
**Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre," she moaned. "Oh God." I help her sit up. "Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up."**  
**After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. Put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair. "It's okay," I told her gently. "Everything's okay."I had that dream"**"

"Yeah I know." Whispered none other then Christian Ozera.

"**Yeah. I know.**"

Christian looked at me. "Creepy" we both muttered.

"**We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand in between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window.**"

"A cat?" Asked the Russian guy,Dimitri.

"Don't animals Hate Dhampirs?"

"Yup." I said.

"**He gave me a wide berth animals don't like dhampirs, for whatever reason but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly. Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi, and they all loved Lissa in particular.**"

"Well who wouldn't'" Said me and another voice I couldn't identify,but I could tell it was male. Lissa smiled blushing.

"**Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further.**"

"Felt?" Asked everybody in the room but Lissa,Me and her just stayed quiet.

"**"When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face. Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and there was an air of frailty about her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd given her blood. "It's been like more then two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?"**"

"Please tell me what I think is gonna happen is gonna happen." Muttered my Mother. I just kept reading.

"**She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to-"**

**"Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak. Oscar, not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window, where he could watch at a safe distance. "Come on. Let's do this."**"

"Rose!" Screamed all the guardians in the room,and the Tall moroi guy dressed weird. I still don't have an idea why him or alot of other people are here.

"**"Rose-"**

**"Come on. It'll make you feel better." I tilted my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate but the sight of my neck and what it offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans. Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blond hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire."**

Lissa blushed again at this.

"**As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart face with a mix of fear and anticipation.**"

My mother raised an eyebrow at that. Cool I've always wanted to do that.

"**I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help, a weakness I couldn't shake.**"

She narrowed her eyes this time.

"**Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain. Then it faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body it was better than any of the time I'd been drunk or high. Better than sex** "

"That's because you haven't done it with me Little Dhampir" Said Adrian with a wink,and I swear my mom and the Moroi dude looked ready to murder him.

"**or so I imagined, since I'd never done it.**"

I saw every male eyebrow go up at this (am I the only one that can't do it?),and Blushed deeply that my sex-life,or lake of there of,was reveled.

"**It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the and on it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered and endorphin rush, and I lost track of the world, lost track of who I was. Then, regretfully,it was over.**"

"Regretfully?" my mother asked through her teeth,and I just looked away.

"**It has taken less than a minute.**"

"**One** good thing" my mother muttered,as the Morio man,I think his name started with an A uhh Abe yeah! Rubbed her back comfortly,and if I could I would've raised my eyes at this.

"**She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. "You okay?"**

**I yeah." I lay back on the bed, dizzy from the blood loss. "I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."**

**Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get you something to eat."**

**My protests came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection,but some of it still lingered in my veins."**

**My mom was still fumming about this.**

**"Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window. "You don't know what you're missing," I told him.**

"I think you've finally lost it Rose,talking to a Cat." Said Mason grinning,talking for the first time.

"Oh mase you know I never really had it" I said,grinning back.

"**His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet-black fur. His tail started smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I wanted for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set it again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer out with Oscar. He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention. A warm breeze unseasonably warm for a Portland fall played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rented a room for the past eight months sat on a residential street with old, mismatched houses.**"

"Ahhh so That's where you've been. I should've know." Muttered Kirova.

"**Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and a man watching me.**"

"Creepy" Whispered Adrain Mason and Eddie. Dimitri just looked down.

"**I jerked back in surprise. A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could've thrown something and hit him.**"

"Do it!" Yelled Adrian grinning.

"**He was certainly close enough that he could've seen what Lissa and I had just done. The shadows covered him so well that even with my heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall. Really tall. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed both of them. Whoever these figure were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone posed an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge.**"

"Dhampir" I muttered.

"**Something similar to what he always sensed in me. Icy fear raced through me, almost but not quite eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite.**"

"Enough about the bite!" Muttered my mother.

"**Backing up from the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process.**"

"So you wer naked?" Asked Adrian grinning. I narrowed my eyes,I've had enough. I walked over to this little closet I spotted and looked inside. Their's gotta be something in here._Bullseye_. I thought as I spotted a little Bag. I read the note.

"_Rose,_

_Thought you might need this. Your certainly strong enoug to use one without a gun._

_R.M._"

I looked inside the bad and grinned,silently thanking this R.M. Lady. I walked back to the room smiling and sat down on the couch picking up the book without a word.

"Whats in the Bag?" Adrain asked wairly,I smirked.

"Make another smart ass comment and find out." I said.

"**Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw,I headed out the , I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus regarded me with surprise.**

**"You shouldn't be up."**

**"We have to go. Now."**

**Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. "Are you really? Are you sure?"**"

"So you guys were prepared for us?" Asked Kirova,I nodded.

"**I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did. Jeremy watched us curiously. "What's wrong?"**

**An idea came to mind. "Liss, get his car keys."**

**He looked back and forth between us. "What are you-"**

**Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond,**

"PHYSIC BOND?" screamed practicly everybody in the and Lissa shrunk down and looked at each other.

"They'll find out during the book." she said through our bond,I nodded and kept reading.

"**but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, the we would be safe. Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust. She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused,and then I saw the thrall seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly.**"

"You sunk to compulsion?" Asked Dimitri. I saw the human girl look at Lissa and me with a look that was mixed between fear and anger.

"We _technially_ didn't considering this hasn't happened." I said,smug I got him.

"But this book was supposed to happen before we read it,so you would sink to compulsion." Fired back Dimitri. Damn he got me.

"We were desperate on the run." Whispered Lissa,sounding ashamed. I rubbed her back letting her know it was ok.

"**"We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. "Where are your keys?" He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another person. That, and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong. Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain.**

**"Thank you," said Lissa. "And where is it parked?"**

**"Down the street," he said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown." Four blocks away. "Thank you," she repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight."**"

"I wonder where he thinks we are now." I whispered,considering we just disapeared.

"**He nodded obligingly. I got the impression he would have walked off a cliff for her right there if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion,but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now.**

**"Come on," I told her. "We've got to move."**"

"Not a smart idea if your still on the high of the bite." Whispered a dhampir,who sounded Russin. I think she was Dimitri's family. I briefly wondered if She was a Blood whore. The thought made me shiver. I wanted to dismise the Idea,becasue she looked to young,she was the youngest of them (excluding the little boy and baby). But I don't think their was an age limit on blood whores.

"**We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a couple of times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with. "Rose what are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.**

**"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them." "But if they've found us-"**

**"They found us before. They didn't catch us then.**"

"What do you mean? We've never had the slightest Idea where you were until now." Said Kirova.

"What about the Psi hounds?" Me and Lissa asked.

"We never sent any hounds." Whispered Kirova. I gulped. if she didn't,_who did_?

"**We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail.**"

"You make it sound simple." Said Eddie.

"**I made it sound simple.**"

"Weird." I muttered.

**"I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened sometimes recklessly so. She was the more responsible one,**"

My mother sighed.'"It's always been that way _Rosemarie_" I cringed at the use of my full name

"**the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before acting. Both styles had their uses, but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to and I had been best friends ever since kindergarden, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell Vasilisa Dragomir and Rosemarie Hathaway was beyond cruel, and we'd or rather I'd responded appropriately.**"

"What did you do?" Asked Adrain egerly. I Held the bag in my other hand,ready to use it if needed.

"**I'd chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard.**"

All the teens in the room (minus the human and Moroi girl,who cracked smiles) broke into laughter at this.

"Classic Rose" Said Eddie.

"**I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target. Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since.**

**"Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly.**

**It took me a few seconds to pick up on what her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blacks to go.**"

"C'mon you can make it." I whispered to book us,recieveing alot of weird looks.

"**"We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.**

**"But you can't-"**

**"Run."**

**It took every ounce of my willpower not to pass out on the sidewalk. My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolizing the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching**"

"Talking to your muscles little dhampir? You really _have_ lost it." Muttered Adrian. Thats it! my mind screamed as I took one of the objects out of the bag and threw it at him. He got the full impact of it and just starred at me and the red spatter on his light green shirt.

"What the hell was _that_?" He screamed.

"A paintball" I said smirking. "R.M. said I would need it. Adrian said nothing as he tried to wipe off the splatter.

" **and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete. Normally, I could have outrun her without any effort particularly since she was barefoot but tonight, she was all that held me upright.**

**The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black starts danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it** "

"_C'mon_" I thought

"**Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path.** "

"_Dammit!_" I almost yelled,but stayed quite.

"W**e can to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was him, the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven. And under different circumstances say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape I would have thought he was hot.**"

"Oh Rose" Muttered Mason,shaking his head.

"** Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat a duster,I thought it was called.**"

"Where Have I seen this before" I muttered before looking up and narrowing my eyes on Dimitri Belikov.

"Hey you don't even know if it was me!" He defended.

"We'll find out." I said.

"**But his hotness was irrelevant was only an obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many. Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning, I acted out of instinct. I pressed up to Lissa, keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader. "Leaver her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her."**"

"Oh Rose,never thinking rationaly" Said Alberta shaking her head.

"**His face was unreadable, but he held out his hands in what was supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal he was planning to sedate."I'm not going to-"**

**He took a step forward. Too close.**"

I held my breath,

"**I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away. The move was stupid,another reaction born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be,how they could move and strike like knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, and his hands slammed into me and sent me backwards.**"

I let my breaht go._ Dammit_ I should've seen it comming.

"**I didn't think he meant to strike that hard probably just intended to keep me away but my lack to coordination interfered with my ability to respond. Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. A lot. Only it didn' as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm,**"

I wish I could've raised an Eyebrow at this. _Very_ interesting.

"**keeping me upright. When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me or, more precisely, at my neck. Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away. Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched the wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin.**"

"Oh god" I muttered trying not to flush at the thought somebody could think I was a _blood whore_.

"**Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that It fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason. The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted. Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I back toward Lissa again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, her hand caught hold on mine, "Rose," she said quietly. "Don't."**"

"Finally the voice of reason." Muttered my mom again.

"**Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across the bond. It wasn't exactly compulsion she wouldn't use that on me but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Even I knew struggling would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat.**"

"Good." said my mom again,God I wish she would _shut up_.

"**Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his height."My name is Dimitri Belikov,"** "

"I_ knew_ it!" I screamed pointing a finger at Dimitri,My eyes narrowing.

"I was just following orders" He said holding his hands up in surrender.

"Were you already waiting for us?" I asked,he sighed.

"Yes,before I was knocked out like you and woke up here." He said. I looked around. I sighed,the faster we read the faster I can get away from this mess. I stt down and continued.

" **he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess.**""

"Thats the end of the chapter" I said. I looked at the time.

'"I think we can fit in 1 more chapter before we go to bed" I said and everybody nodded. I handed the book to Lissa.

"Chapter 2" She read.

* * *

**Well? What do my lovely readers think? Let me know and review! Oh and I know some characters havent had a chance to speak,and it's like their not even their. But it's hard to give them all time,but it will come. Well Review review review! let me know what you think. Cmon I know you wanna press the button! It's shiny! ok not really but you get the point.**

**-RozaBelikov123**


	3. Chapter 3

**I ish back for another round! :D OK first I must say,I probably will be just updating on the weekends because school is getting tough on me :/ (I'm a freshman :DD) Anyways you guys are awesome for reviewing! You don't know how happy it makes me knowing people love this story (: Anyways here's the second chapter!**

**Ps: Sorry is Eddie seems a little OCC this chapter but I think he's become uptight because of Mason's death. But in my story Mason's alive so YAY! :D**

**Disclaimer: I Don't own Vampire Academy cause If I did Rose and Dimitri would've been together MUCH sooner(:**

* * *

**Rose's POV:**

**"Chapter Two." **Lissa Read.

**MY HATRED NOTWITHSTANDING,**

"Hatred?" Asked Dimitri doing his "Fancy raising his eyebrow thing"

**I HAD to admit Dimitri Beli-whatever**

I smirked at this.

**was pretty smart.**

This turned my smirk into a frown.

**After they'd carted us off to the airport to and onto the Academy's private jet, he'd taken one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated.**

OK so maybe he was smarter then I credited him for...

**"Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who escorted me to the back of the plane. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan."**

"Am I really that easy to read?" I muttered to no one.

"Yes" smirked Mason. I narrowed my eyes.

**I shot him a haughty look and stormed off down the aisle. Never mind the fact we had been planning escape.**

"So I was correct?" asked Dimitri. I just glared.

**As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes - or heroines, rather.**

"Oh Rose,Always the Dramatic" Said Eddie holding his hand over his four head,Mason smirked and continued.

"The Russian was smart! Now how are we going to escape this horrible,place where no strigoi could get us! how worse could it get?" He yelled falling into the floor dramatically .

**Once we were in the air, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to take out all ten guardians,**

"Highly unlikely considering you_ left_." Sneered my mother. I narrowed my eyes,but Stayed quiet.

**we'd sort of have a problem in getting off the plane. I figured they might have parachutes aboard somewhere, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to operate one, there was still that little issue of survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.**

I heard a Gasp,and I knew Eddie & Mason were about to make another Smart ass comment. I just turned and looked listening.

"Eddie! Do my ears deceive me? Did _THE_ Rosemarie Hathaway just think logically?" Said Mason.

"Well I think she did Mase,I think the world is coming to an end!" He said,and they clutched each other in a comforting manor. Me and Lissa just rolled our eyes and she kept reading.

**No, we weren't getting off this plane until it landed in backwoods Montana. I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardians.**

"Yeah. No problem." Said Christian. I narrowed my eyes. He was in no position to speak to any of us right now,and first I just wanna figure out why the_ hell_ he is here!

**Yeah. No problem.**

I glared at the book now. How dare it make me and Christian sound so alike! OK now I'm mad at a book maybe I am going crazy. I wonder if this R.M. lady would let me out if I went insane...

**Although Lissa sat at the front with the Russian guy, her fear sang back to me, pounding inside my head like a hammer. My concern for her cut into my fury. They couldn't take her back there, not to that place.**

"What is wrong with this Place Little Dhampir? You make it sound like hell!" Said Adrain,I again stayed Silent.

**I wondered if Dimitri might have hesitated if he could feel what I did and if he knew what I knew. Probably not. He didn't care.**

"Oh So Now I'm Heartless. Lovely." Said Dimitri,I think he was being sarcastic but I couldn't tell cause he still had his "emotionless" Guardian face.

**As it was, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the disorienting sensation of sitting in her seat - in her skin even. It happened sometimes, and without much warning, she'd pull me right into her head. Dimitri's tall frame sat beside me, and my hand - her hand - gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something, revealing six tiny symbols tattooed on the back of his neck: molnija marks. They looked like two streaks of jagged lightning crossing in an X symbol. One for each Strigoi he'd killed. Above them was a twisting line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a guardian. The promise mark.**

I looked over and saw a look in Mason and Eddie's eyes. I'm pretty sure my eyes mirrored it. Even thought I left school I still wanted my promise mark. The mark that shows you as a_true_ guardian.

**Blinking, I fought against her and shifted back into my own head with a grimace. I hated when that happened. Feeling Lissa's emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both despised.**

I saw Adrain's eyes shoot up,and he opened his mouth,and then closed it when he saw me raise the paint Moroi.

**She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it happened.**

"You didn't?" Screeched Lissa. "Well then how many times has it happened?" Asked Lissa. I,again, stayed silent. We were gonna be here a while I'd rather not fight.

**Neither of us could control it. It was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully understood. Legends existed about psychic links between guardians and their Moroi, but the stories had never mentioned anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could.**

**Near the end of the flight, Dimitri walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me. I pointedly turned away, staring out the window absentmindedly Several moments of silence passed. Finally, he said, "Were you really going to attack all of us?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"Doing that protecting her like that - it was very brave."**

"But stupid." Said the real Dimitri. The older Russian woman (I amused his mother.) narrowed her eyes.

"Dimiki! Что я говорил об уважении? Вызов женщина глупая, не уважение!" She said in Fluent Russian,Wow my head hurts now.

"But Mama! Технически я не причинит ей Глупо, только то, что она была глупа! И именно она могла уже получили ее и принцессу убили!" Said Dimitri Back just as Fluently. OK my Head is gonna pop in a minute. I saw Dimitri's mother open her mouth but the other Russian lady (I assume she's his grandmother) Opened her mouth first.

"Вы оба! Завершение аду так, мы можем получить эти книги Черт сделано!" She barked,and I saw them both shut their mouths. Thank god,I hope this meant we were done with the Russian. For life.

**He paused. "Stupid,**

I saw Dimitri about to comment on the Fact him and His book-self agreed,but was quickyl silenced by one look from his grandmother.

**but still brave. Why did you even try it?"**

**I glanced over at him, brushing my hair out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. "Because I'm her guardian."**

"No your not!" Screamed all the guardian's in the room,my mother especially. I narrowed my eyes.

"But I will be." I said with confidence.

"You don't know that" Replied Kirova with A smirk I wanted to smack off. But It actually made me think,What if I didn't become Lissa's guardian? I quickly banished the thought. I _have_to. Nobody will be willing to protect her more then her best friend. They _have_ to be smart enough to see that.

**I turned back toward the window.**

**After another quiet moment, he stood up and returned to the front of the jet.**

**When we landed, Lissa and I had no choice but to let the commandos drive us out to the Academy. Our car stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who verified we weren't Strigoi about to go off on a killing spree.**

"Do we look like fucking Strigoi?" I said,almost yelling it.

"Language Miss Hathaway." Said Kirova with narrowed eyes. I rolled mine.

**After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. It was around sunset - the start of the vampiric day - and the campus lay wrapped in shadows.**

**It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same style. The buildings boasted elaborate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on a college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school.**

"Woah I never thought I'd see the day you'd appreciate the academy" Said Mason Smirking. I smiled and gave him a little shove.

**We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quadrangle decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while dhampir dormitories and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west.**

**Around all the campuses was space, space, and more space. We were in Montana, after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, decaying leaves. Overgrown forests ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during the day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance.**

**As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to Dimitri.**

**"Hey, Comrade."**

"Comrade?" asked Dimitri with raised eyebrows. God it's like they were mocking me doing that!

"Hmmm I don't know I think it fits you,Comrade" I said smirking at his narrowed eyes.

**He kept walking and wouldn't look at me. "You want to talk now?**

**"Are you taking us to Kirova?"**

"Headmistress Kirova" Said Kirova glaring at me. I just did my best "I'm so innocent it's almost ridiculous" Smile

**"Headmistress Kirova," he corrected.**

I saw her smile at Dimitri for correcting me. Bitch.

**On the other side of him, Lissa shot me a look that said, Don't start something.**

"But it's so fun" I said smirking.

**"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit - "**

"You better now finish that Miss Hathaway" She said looking at me like I should turn to dust.

**My words faded as the guardians led us through a set of doors-straight into the commons. I sighed. Were these people really so cruel? There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Kirova's office, and they were taking us right through the center of the commons.**

**And it was breakfast time.**

"Fabulous!" groaned me and Lissa together

**Novice guardians - dhampirs like me - and Moroi sat together, eating and socializing, faces alight with whatever current gossip held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. Hundreds of sets of eyes swiveled toward us.**

"Ahhh High school. Don't you just love it Liss?" I asked to her,and she rolled her eyes.

**I returned the stares of my former classmates with a lazy grin, trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. Nope. Didn't seem like it. Camille Conta still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered,**

Kirova Sighed.

"Miss Hathaway,How many times am I gonna be yelling at you during this book?" She asked. I didn't answer but I had a feeling it was gonna be A LOT.

**still the self-appointed leader of the Academy's royal Moroi cliques. Off to the side, Lissa's gawky near-cousin Natalie watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naive as before.**

"Ahhhh Natalie" Said Lissa with a smile and a shake of her head.

**And on the other side of the room well, that was interesting. Aaron.**

I saw the small (almost child-like) blonde Moroi's head snap up at is the first time she's paid attention the whole book.

**Poor, poor Aaron, who'd no doubt had his heart broken when Lissa left. He still looked as cute as ever - maybe more so now -**

The blonde Moroi,Her name started with a M uh Missy? No Mia! That's it,glared at me.

**with those same golden looks that complemented hers so well. His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Definitely not over her.**

I smirked at the Mia who was now starring at Lissa. My guess was she was now dating Aaron. _Somebody's possessive!_ I thought.

**It was sad, really, because Lissa had never really been all that into him. I think she'd gone out with him simply because it seemed like the expected thing to do.**

I Don't know if it was true or not,But I swear I saw Christian's eyes flash over to Lissa for a millisecond. My mind _better_ be playing tricks.

**But what I found most interesting was that Aaron had apparently found a way to pass the time without her. Beside him, holding his hand, was a Moroi girl who looked about eleven but had to be older, unless he'd become a pedophile during our absence.**

I saw Mia's eyes narrow at this,But I think she was just waiting to confirm I was talking about her before she blew up.

**With plump little cheeks and blond ringlets, she looked like a porcelain doll. A very pissed off and evil porcelain doll.**

"I am not a Fucking porcelain doll!" She finally Screamed standing up and pointing a finger in my face. I saw all the Guardian's immediatly jumped to alert at this. I just smirked at her.

"Little girl you might wanna sit down,Because Your not ready to play with the big kids yet." I said flashing a smile. I briefly heard a couple snorts and giggles before Kireova decided to make her presence known.

"Hathaway! Rinaldi! That's enough,sit down!" She barked,and Mia obeyed,looking very much how she was described in the book. Like a Pissed off and evil porcelain doll.

**She gripped his hand tightly and shot Lissa a look of such burning hatred that it stunned me. What the hell was that all about? She was no one I knew. Just a jealous girlfriend, I guessed. I'd be pissed too if my guy was watching someone else like that.**

**Our walk of shame mercifully ended, though our new setting - Headmistress Kirova's office - didn't really improve things. The old hag looked exactly like I remembered, sharp-nosed and gray-haired.**

Kirova didn't even have a response for this. She just sat there looking red face and flustered. I resisted the urge to laugh.

**She was tall and slim, like most Moroi, and had always reminded me of a vulture. I knew her well because I'd spent a lot of time in her office.**

"Too much time." She muttered.

**Most of our escorts left us once Lissa and I were seated, and I felt a little less like a prisoner. Only Alberta, the captain of the school's guardians, and Dimitri stayed. They took up positions along the wall, looking stoic and terrifying, just as their job description required.**

**Kirova fixed her angry eyes on us and opened her mouth to begin what would no doubt be a major bitch session. A deep, gentle voice stopped her.**

**"Vasilisa."**

Lissa cringed at the use of her full name,but kept reading,I could tell through our Bond she was curious to who it was.

**Startled, I realized there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. Careless for a guardian, even a novice one.**

My mother nodded her head,A sign she agreed with me for once. To bad it was bad for my part.

**With a great deal of effort, Victor Dashkov rose from a corner chair.**

"Uncle!" Lissa squealed to the book smiling. I saw everybody else jump at her yell,but I saw it coming.I think I'm the only one in the room who knows how Close she is to Victor,I'm not as close but I have a healthy respect for the man. I briefly wondered why he wasn't here with us.

**Prince Victor Dashkov. Lissa sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body.**

Me and Lissa both frowned at this.

**"Uncle," she whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her grip.**

**With a small smile, he gently patted her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." He looked toward me. "And you too, Rose."**

"Yay I'm an after thought." I muttered sarcastically.

**I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this - this was horrible.**

I frowned at this. If My book self thought he was horrible,I was afraid to see how horrible he really was.

**He was Natalie's father, only about forty or so, but he looked twice that age. Pale. Withered. Hands shaking. My heart broke watching him.**

God just reading about it is making my heart break. I could feel Lissa's sadness seeping through the bond to. Victor was the cloest thing she had to a father since...the accident. I shivered and tried to suppress the memory.

**With all the horrible people in the world, it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to kill him young and ultimately keep him from becoming king.**

I saw Lissa look down,wetness forming around her eyes,and I went over and put my arm around her in comfort. She smiled at me,and I could feel how grateful she was for having me through her bond.

**Although not technically her uncle - the Moroi used family terms very loosely, especially the royals - Victor was a close friend of Lissa's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I liked him; he was the first person I was happy to see here.**

**Kirova let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Lissa back to her seat.**

**Time for the lecture.**

I mentally groaned in my mind.

**It was a good one - one of Kirova's best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actually liking kids.**

"I don't hate you. I don't exactly like you,but I can stand you,which is more then more Moroi can do." explained Kirova.

**The rant covered the usual topics: responsibility reckless behavior, self-centeredness Bleh. I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office.**

**But when the tirade shifted to me - well, that was when I tuned back in.**

**"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; you nearly enabled them to do it."**

I felt Lissa shudder,and I rubbed her back reassuringly.

**"Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her uneasy feelings. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her."**

**Ms. Kirova tsked at us both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back.**

**"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still her responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."**

**I snapped.**

"Uh oh" breathed Mase and Eddie. They knew what was coming.

**"I did do my duty!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. Dimitri and Alberta both flinched but left me alone since I wasn't trying to hit anyone. Yet. "I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of you" - I made a sweeping gesture around the room - "could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to."**

**Through the bond, I felt Lissa trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let anger get the best of me. Too late.**

Lissa groaned.

"Rose" She said looking at me. I shrugged. I can't help what my book self does.

**Kirova stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"**

**I bit my lip.**

**"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left - aside from the novelty of it, no doubt - was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."**

**"No, that's not - "**

**"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."**

"WHAT?" I screamed standing up.

"YOUR NOT TAKING ME AWAY FROM HER!" I screamed,pointing to Lissa.

"Miss Hathaway,this isn't about what you want but about what's best for Miss Dragomir." Said Kirova,a small smirk on her lips.

"Well how about we settle it this way? If I'm sent away in the book,then you can send me away as soon as were out of this Hell hole. But If I stay,then I get to stay in real life." I said,hoping she'd agree cause I have a good feeling about this book. I could see her thinking it over a minute,before agreeing. I silently prayed that this book would keep me at the academy,with Lissa.

**My cockiness dried up. "I what?"**

**Lissa stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."**

**"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."**

**"But my parents - "**

**"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."**

**I stared at Kirova, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my father?**

I saw my mother narrow her eyes at me,and I saw that Abe guy look at me,I didn't like the way he was looking at me. It scarred me."

**Her eyes narrowed at the bite in that last word. When I spoke again, my voice was so cold, I barely recognized it.**

**"Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."**

_Ah great! There goes my chance of staying_. I thought.

**"Miss Hathaway," she hissed, "you are out of line."**

**"They have a bond." Dimitri's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all turned toward him.**

I turned to him in real life. I tried to raise my eyebrows at him,but by the slightly amused face that seeped through his guardian mask I could tell I was failing miserably.

**I think Kirova had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't. His presence was way too powerful to ignore. He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of cowboy sentry in that ridiculous long coat of his. He looked at me, not Lissa, his dark eyes staring straight through me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?"**

I saw everybody But Dimitri and Lissa look at me,Mouths slightly open,and waiting for an answer.

"Well don't look at me look at the book!" I said,and they all turned their attention back to the book.

**I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Kirova caught off guard as she glanced between us and Dimitri. "No that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."**

"Until now" I said smirking,looking at her tight face.

**"It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."**

**Neither Lissa nor I responded, and I averted my eyes from his.**

**"That is a gift," murmured Victor from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."**

**"The best guardians always had that bond," added Dimitri. "In the stories."**

I smiled smugly at this.

**Kirova's outrage returned. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?"**

**He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential - "**

"Woah woah woah! Stop this! Are you actually protecting me Comrade?" I Asked looking at him with a smirk. He just shrugged,But I could tell by his eyes he was questioning his book self's logic.

**"Wild and disrespectful?" I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"**

**"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova. "Her sanctioned guardian."**

**"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?"**

I cringed at this. Because I actually had the guts to say it,and the fact that Dimitri's whole family was now glaring daggers at me,Especially his younger non-pregnant/non-mother sister. She must be very over protecting._ If looks could kill.._

**That was pretty mean of me to say - particularly since most Moroi and their guardians were of Russian or Romanian descent - but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in the U.S., but my parents were foreign-born. My dhampir mother was Scottish - red-haired, with a ridiculous accent**

"You never said you thought my accent was ridiculous before!" Yelled my mother. I stayed silent.

**- and I'd been told my Moroi dad was Turkish.**

Abe opened his mouth to say something,but quickly shut it. My mind started spinning trying to figure out what he could've said to that.

**That genetic combination had given me skin the same color as the inside of an almond, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic desert-princess features: big dark eyes and hair so deep brown that it usually looked black. I wouldn't have minded inheriting the red hair, but we take what we get.**

I swear my mother cracked a smile at this,but then again my mind isn't in the best position to see what's going on around me.

**Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to him. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and very raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."**

I cringed. I was still praying that their was a possible chance to stay at the academy.

**"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again."**

"I can't believe your defending me." I whispered to Dimitri. His eyes told me he felt the same. His face still looked like stone.

**"Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."**

**"No, I won't," I argued. No one listened to me.**

**"Then give her extra training sessions," he said.**

**They continued on while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game. My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Lissa. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope.**

**"Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova. "You?"**

Uh oh. This can't be good.

**Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I - "**

**Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought."**

Kirova smiled smugly.

"Prepare to say goodbye Hathaway."

**Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward Lissa and me, and I wondered what he saw. Two pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance?**

**"Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."**

I looked at Dimitri in disbelief.

"Really?" I asked. "Your going to mentor me?" I asked still in shock.

"I guess so." He said,looking like he was in shock to.

**"And then what?" retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?"**

**"Find some other way to punish her," answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular."**

Everybody in the room either cringed or shuddered at this,but again the human looked the most disgusted.

**His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood whores." Few dhampir girls became guardians anymore.**

**Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."**

I was silently thanking Victor a million times in my mind.

**Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule, morning and afternoon were relative terms. That, and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light.**

**When she turned back around, Lissa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."**

**_Oh, Lissa_****, I thought****_. Be careful_****. Using compulsion on another Moroi was dangerous -**

"Oh your not." I said to Lissa,hoping for some sadistic reason she made it up. She smiled sadly.

**particularly in front of witnesses. But Lissa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the help we could get.**

I groaned. I hope nobody realized it in the book.

**Fortunately, no one seemed to realize what was happening.**

My breath whooshed out. But now we have to deal with what their going to think. Great.

**I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed.**

**"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to me. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have - before and after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent away."**

As soon as that was read I was ready to jump up and do a touch-down dance,but I settled for screaming "YES!" instead. Kirova narrowed her eyes at me.

"But Lissa used compulsion! It cant count." She said,desperate to send me away.

"But you never said she couldn't! You just said If I stayed in the book I could stay for real. A deal is a deal." I said. She just stayed silent and I think for once I won this.

**I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I nodded toward Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"**

_I really need to learn to shut my mouth._ I thought,

**"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips tightened into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."**

**I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know.**

"Probably the latter" He whispered.

**Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lissa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress.**

**"Fine. I accept."**

"That's the end of the chapter." Lissa was about to hand the book to Dimitri when I stopped her.

"I Say we sleep and read more tomorrow" I said with a yawn,Looking around I could tell everybody agreed. Me and Lissa made our way to find some beds and As soon as My head hit the pillow,I was out.

* * *

**Wooo! another chapter. Man I am BEAT! Well I hope you guys liked it,and Don't forget to review and make my week :D**

**Oh and Btw here's the Russian translation.**

**Что я говорил об уважении? Вызов женщина глупая, не уважение!-What have I said about respect? Calling a woman stupid is not respect!**

**Технически я не причинит ей Глупо, только то, что она была глупа! И именно она могла уже получили ее и принцессу убили!- Technically I didn't call her stupid,just what she did was stupid! And it was she could've gotten herself or the princess killed!**

**Вы оба! Завершение аду так, мы можем получить эти книги Черт сделано!-Both of you! Shut the Hell up so we can finish these damn books!**

**-RozaBelikov123**

**ps: This story gave me my blonde moment today. Instead of writing Lissa I kept writing Melissa,and didn't notice till halfway through! Ok this probably don't mean anything to you guys but I felt like sharing :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I didn't update over the weekend,had some problems with my computer. But I'm updating now :D Love meh yet? ;) Here ish the next chapter!**

**ps: I am sorry about the words missing in the chapters. A glitch I'm trying to fix,please over look it.**

**Diclaimer: I do not own the hunky Dimitri Belikov,or any other recognizable characters of Vampire academy :(**

* * *

I woke with a start,looking around. I immediately found Lissa.

"Liss,Liss" I muttered shaking her. She awoke with a start tears in her eyes. Another Nightmare. Words weren't needed as I sat there rocking her back and forth,stroking her hair much like a mother would a child.

"It was just a dream,Just a dream" I whispered. Eventually I calmed her down enough to lull her back into a sleep,and went back into a dreamless world myself.

The next time I awoke it was to the smell of Eggs,bacon,Ham,The whole works. My mouth was watering before I could even process what I was smelling. I was running into the kitchen,Where I see all the guardians (mostly Eddie and Mason) scarfing down the wonderful smelling food. Dimiti's mother was at the stove cooking with Dimiti's youngest sister while the rest of their family sat around the table. The Moroi were Setting a little farther,drinking blood,and the human girl sat by herself in a corner,with barley touched food,reading a book. (how she got one,I have no idea.)

"Morning Dear." Said Dimiti's mother smiling comfortingly.

"Morning." I said yawning.

"This Smelling Delicious " I said grabbing a plate full of food.

"Oh! makes me sound old dear. Please call me Olena" She said smiling at me. I smiled back because,oddly enough,this woman made me feel cared for. After we were all finished and cleaned up Dimitri grabbed the book and proceeded to start reading.

"**Chapter 3**" He read.

**SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lissa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature.**

"I find this super creepy" whispered Adrian. I narrowed my eyes,my little pouch with paintballs in my hand ready.

**They actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first. He was an ancient Moroi guy, one I remembered from before I'd left. I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired. Or died.**

"Rose!" Chastised my mom. I just gave her doe eyes. I can't help what I think.

**The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland. He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class.**

**1st Period Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques**

**2nd Period Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3**

**3rd Period Weight Training and Conditioning**

**4th Period Senior Language Arts (Novices)**

**-Lunch -**

**5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology**

**6th Period Pre-calculus**

**7th Period Moroi Culture 4**

**8th Period Slavic Art**

I wrinkled my nose at Slavic art.

**Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lissa until after lunch - if we had any afternoon classes together. Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too.**

"Great" Lissa muttered.

**Dimitri and Alberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence.**

I Saw Kirova give a small nod to them in approval.

**Walking behind them, I saw how Alberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark and molnija marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, but I didn't want to ever cut my hair.**

I played with my long locks,sad about the fact I would one day have to cut them.

**She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak.**

"How about a circus freak on the way to rock stardom?" asked Mason with a crooked grin,I rolled my eyes,but smiled non the less.

**All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lissa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that. Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin.**

"I'll bet you finally meet me!" Said Adrian confidently. I felt my finger curl around a paintball.

**"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."**

"Nope me!" Mason announced proudly,trying not to blush as some of the other people in the room laughed at the statement I made in the book.

**A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot.**

"Hey I'm hot!" Mason wined,crossing his arms and pouting.

"Oh yeah dude,your bringing Sexy back" Said Eddie sarcastically.

**He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day.**

I Saw Mason smile at this and him open his mouth.

"Oh Eddie! Do you remember back in the day when we were best friends with little Rosemarie Hathaway? Such good days!" He said looking like he was reminiscing

**"This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."**

**"Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."**

**"It's always a good a time to think about you naked," added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile. Another friend of mine.**

"Will you horn dog teenage boys please refrain from thinking about my daughter naked!" Boomed my mother,and Eddie & Mason cowered in fear.

**Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary.**

"Dimiki..." Warned Olena.

**But as for me well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students.**

**The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lissa and I had become legends. I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well.**

"Why did you leave exactly?" asked Dimitri.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I taunted with a smirk.

**The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties. Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realized I didn't know most of them.**

"You would if you didn't leave" Said a voice. I didn't bother to look and see if it was Kirova or my mother because honestly right now I didn't care.

**"Come on, Hathaway," he said, taking my arm. "You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time."**

**An hour later, he had his answer.**

"I'll bet I kicked your ass" He said grinning.

"Language " Said Kirova,I just rolled my eyes.

**"Not practicing, huh?"**

**"Ow," I groaned, momentarily incapable of normal speech.**

"Aha! I knew it!" he said high 5ing Eddie.

**He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on - about fifty times.**

**"I hate you," I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow.**

**"You'd hate me more if I held back."**

**"Yeah, that's true," I agreed, staggering along as the class put the equipment back.**

**"You actually did okay."**

**"What? I just had my ass handed to me."**

**"Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something." He grinned mockingly.**

"If you survive me,your a winner" He said.

**"Did I mention I hate you?"**

**He flashed me another smile, which quickly faded to something more serious. "Don't take this the wrong way I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trials in the spring - "**

**"They're making me take extra practice sessions," I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practices really became an issue.**

"Good Luck with that!" yelled my mother,obviously pissed now.

**"I'll be ready."**

**"Extra sessions with who?"**

**"That tall guy. Dimitri."**

**Mason stopped walking and stared at me. "You're putting in extra time with Belikov?"**

**"Yeah, so what?"**

**"So the man is a god."**

Mason blushed as pretty much the whole Belikov family,and guardian's laughed.

**"Exaggerate much?" I asked.**

**"No, I'm serious. I mean, he's all quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights wow. If you think you're hurting now, you're going to be dead when he's done with you."**

**Great. Something else to improve my day.**

Oh my sarcasm,how I love you so!

**I elbowed him and went on to second period. That class covered the essentials of being a bodyguard and was required for all seniors. Actually, it was the third in a series that had started junior year. That meant I was behind in this class too, but I hoped protecting Lissa in the real world had given me some insight.**

"Probably not" Said my mother,nose in the air.

**Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom we referred to simply as "Stan" behind his back and "Guardian Alto" in formal settings. He was a little older than Dimitri, but not nearly as tall, and he always looked pissed off.**

"A to the men!" muttered Eddie.

**Today, that look intensified when he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting there. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he circled the room and came to stand beside my desk.**

**"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very generous of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us."**

I groaned. I have a feeling this isn't gonna be good.

**I felt my cheeks burning, but in a great show of self-control, I stopped myself from telling him to fuck off.**

"At least she didn't say it" Said Alberta.

**I'm pretty sure my face must have delivered that message, however, because his sneer increased. He gestured for me to stand up.**

**"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class."**

**I sank into my seat. "You don't really mean - "**

**The taunting smile dried up. "I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class."**

I've always hated that Douche bag.

**A thick silence enveloped the room. Stan was a scary instructor, and most of the class was too awed to laugh at my disgrace quite yet. Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders, earning a few sympathetic smiles from my friends.**

"Rose" groaned my mother with her head in her hands.

**I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians - including Dimitri - lingered in the back of the room. Outside the Academy, guardians focused on one-on-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect and they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, they worked shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes.**

**"So, Hathaway,"**

"Oh this is gonna be good" Said Adrian rubbing his hands together and I clenched my teeth.

**said Stan cheerfully, strolling back up to the front with me. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."**

**"My techniques?"**

**"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."**

**It was the Kirova lecture all over again, except with more witnesses.**

**"We never ran into any Strigoi," I replied stiffly.**

**"Obviously," he said with a snicker. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive."**

I felt my fist tightening,I wanna punch something.

**I wanted to shout that maybe I could have defeated a Strigoi, but after getting beat up in the last class, I now suspected I couldn't have survived an attack by Mason, let alone an actual Strigoi.**

"So she has some sense" muttered Dimitri,and His mother smacked him.

**When I didn't say anything, Stan started pacing in front of the class.**

**"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"**

**"Sometimes." That was true - especially when we'd first run away. We'd relaxed a little after months went by with no attacks.**

**"Sometimes," he repeated in a high-pitched voice,**

I closed my eyes,I _really_ wanna punch something

**making my answer sound incredibly stupid. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."**

**"Er no."**

**"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you weren't here."**

**I swallowed back more swear words. "I watched the area whenever we went out," I said, needing to defend myself.**

**"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"**

**I didn't say anything.**

**"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method."**

**"No!" I exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"**

**He walked back up to me and leaned toward my face. "Because you got lucky."**

Now I _need_ to punch something. Preferably Stan's head.

**"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," I shot back. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."**

**"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!" he yelled. I could smell coffee on his breath, he was so close. "One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him - and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"**

**No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry. Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation, stone-faced.**

**"Moroi blood," I whispered.**

**"What was that?" asked Stan loudly. "I didn't catch it."**

**I spun back around to face him. "Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger."**

"AH!" I screeched running over to punch a wall. My knuckled turned blood red while the wall didn't even have a scratch. Everybody just looked at my stunned. Hey My book self didn't blow up cause she could get in some serious trouble there,Here they couldn't do_ shit_. The first one to speak,surprisingly was Dimitri.

"Let me see your knuckles" he said said standing up and grabbing my hand.

"Leave me alone" I said,quickly taking them out of his hand,Mostly trying to ignore the spark I felt when he touched my hand. If he felt it to he sure didn't show it,his guardian mask still in place.

"It needs to be bandaged,c'mon theirs a first aid kit in the kitchen" He said pulling me into the next room. It was all quiet till he spoke while wrapping my hand.

"I would've done the same thing." he whispered.

"Huh?" I chuckled.

"If I was still a novice,and a teacher pushed my buttons. I would've lost it to." He said finishing up the bandage. He held up my hand.

"See good as new" He said,smiling at patting it. I briefly looked into his eyes. Brown. Like mine. I tried not to smile,and failed, as I realized they kind of matched. I saw his guardian mask slipp a little as he to smiled. But then suddenly it was back on full force and there was the face again,with no emotion.

"We better get back so we can finish the books" He whispered standing up and walking out. I just sat there a few moments before getting up and following him back. I sat down Briefly wondering what The real Dimitri was like,the one under that mask.

**He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. "Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough - even with guardians - to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear "**

"We get it!" I whisper yelled.

**" so do the dhampirs," I finished.**

**"Well," he said, licking sprayed spit off his lips.**

"Ew!" Said all the girls in the room,even the human.

**"It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester."**

**Ouch. I spent the rest of that horrible class - in my seat, thankfully - replaying those last words in my mind. The senior-year field experience was the best part of a novice's education.**

"Yeahh!" Said Eddie and Mason bumping fist.

**We'd have no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with staged attacks and other threats. How a novice passed that field experience was almost as important as all the rest of her**

"or his!" butted in Mason

**grades combined. It could influence which Moroi she got assigned to after graduation.**

**And me? There was only one Moroi I wanted.**

"Gee little Dhampir,I wonder who" said Adrian smirking.

**Two classes later, I finally earned my lunch escape. As I stumbled across campus toward the commons, Dimitri fell into step beside me, not looking particularly godlike - unless you counted his godly good looks.**

Dimitri looked at me with a rose eyebrow and I fought the urge to thoughts!

**"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" I asked, not bothering with titles.**

Kirova tsked me at this.

**"Yes."**

**"And you don't think that was unfair?"**

**"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?"**

**I looked down at the ground. "I kept her alive," I mumbled.**

**"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?"**

**The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too.**

**"If you can't fight them - "**

**"Yeah, yeah, I know," I snapped.**

**He slowed his long stride to match my pain-filled one. "You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"**

**"Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then."**

**"You didn't join any teams?"**

Mason and Eddie scoffed. They knew me to well.

**"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here."**

**He gave me an exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking."**

**"I'll be able to protect her," I said fiercely.**

**"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know - for your field experience or after you graduate." Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor.**

"Nope" Said Dimitri stone faced.

**"No one wants to waste the bond - but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate - if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will."**

"I will" I whispered to no one in paticular.

**"Lissa, call her Lissa," I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname.**

Lissa smiled at me gratefully for this.

**He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore.**

"Maybe cause you never were one" Mason teased, and me being the big adult stuck out my tongue.

**By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me.**

**"Rose?"**

**Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance.**

**"Mr. Dash-er, Your Highness. Hi."**

"She learns to use titles!" said Eddie with an awed look.

**I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families. The eldest in the family got the title of "prince" or "princess." Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line.**

I saw Lissa flinch.

**"How was your first day?" he asked.**

**"Not over yet." I tried to think of something conversational. "Are you visiting here for a while?"**

**"I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa - and you - had returned, I simply had to come see you."**

**I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine.**

"Rose,you know he's cares as much for you as he does me." She said smiling reassuringly.

**"I wanted to tell you " He spoke hesitantly. "I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You did keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive."**

**"Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything," I said.**

**"But you faced down some things?"**

**"Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once."**

"No we didn't" muttered Kirova.

**"Remarkable."**

"Indeed" I said Smiling to Lissa.

**"Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy."**

**He laughed. "I've hunted with them before. They aren't that easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence." It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey - as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves. "Did you face anything else?"**

**I shrugged. "Little things here and there."**

"Like what?" asked The little girl Moroi,who couldn't be older then 14 or 15.

"Things" I said smiling at the young girl.

**"Remarkable," he repeated.**

**"Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff." I sounded just like Stan now.**

Ugg just my luck to sound like the old Asshole.

**"You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond."**

**I looked away. My ability to "feel" Lissa had been such a secret for so long, it felt weird to have others know about it.**

**"The histories are full of stories of guardians who could feel when their charges were in danger," Victor continued.**

**"I've made a hobby of studying up on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset."**

**"I guess." I shrugged. What a boring hobby, I thought, imagining him poring over prehistoric histories in some dank library covered in spiderwebs.**

"You would never survive" Said Mason,nudging me.

**Victor tilted his head, curiosity all over his face. Kirova and the others had had the same look when we'd mentioned our connection, like we were lab rats. "What is it like - if you don't mind me asking?"**

**"It's I don't know. I just sort of always have this hum of how she feels. Usually it's just emotions. We can't send messages or anything." I didn't tell him about slipping into her head. That part of it was hard even for me to understand.**

"Sounds freaky" said Christian. I controlled the urge to yell out "Yeah _I'M_ the freak here."

**"But it doesn't work the other way? She doesn't sense you?"**

**I shook my head.**

**His face shone with wonder. "How did it happen?"**

**"I don't know," I said, still glancing away. "Just started two years ago."**

**He frowned. "Near the time of the accident?"**

Me and Lissa both shivered.

**Hesitantly, I nodded. The accident was not something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into them. Twisted metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot again. Lissa screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me.**

I felt rather then saw Lissa trying to suppress her sadness.

**And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived.**

**Apparently sensing my discomfort, Victor let the moment go and returned to his earlier excitement.**

**"I can still barely believe this. It's been so long since this has happened. If it did happen more often just think what it could do for the safety of all Moroi. If only others could experience this too. I'll have to do more research and see if we can replicate it with others."**

"I'd rather that not happen" I whispered,trying to imagine others in my situation.

**"Yeah." I was getting impatient, despite how much I liked him. Natalie rambled a lot, and it was pretty clear which parent she'd inherited that quality from. Lunch was ticking down, and although Moroi and novices shared afternoon classes, Lissa and I wouldn't have much time to talk.**

**"Perhaps we could - " He started coughing, a great, seizing fit that made his whole body shake. His disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, took the lungs down with it while dragging the body toward death.**

Me and Lissa both sent each other a worried glance.

**I cast an anxious look at his guardians, and one of them stepped forward. "Your Highness," he said politely, "you need to go inside. It's too cold out here."**

**Victor nodded. "Yes, yes. And I'm sure Rose here wants to eat."**

"Yes I do" I answered for my bookself.

**He turned to me. "Thank you for speaking to me. I can't emphasize how much it means to me that Vasilisa is safe - and that you helped with that. I'd promised her father I'd look after her if anything happened to him, and I felt like quite the failure when you left."**

Lissa frowned,I could feel through the bond she never considered how others would act to us gone. Neither did I.

**A sinking sensation filled my stomach as I imagined him wracked with guilt and worry over our disappearance. Until now, I hadn't really thought about how others might have felt about us leaving.**

Wow this R.M. lady has me spot on.

"Love ya to Rosie Posie" muttered Mason sarcastically.

**We made our goodbyes, and I finally arrived inside the school. As I did, I felt Lissa's anxiety spike. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I picked up my pace into the commons.**

**And nearly ran right into her.**

**She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl.**

I smiled seeing Mia grit her teeth.

**I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else.**

**"It looks to me like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards." Scorn dripped off the word Dragomir.**

**Grabbing Doll Girl by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell.**

**"She does have standards," I said, "which is why you're done talking to her."**

"BURRRNNN!" Sang Mason and Eddie laughing. I smiled at the big Goofs. Dimitri handed the book to,ugg,Christian.

* * *

**Mwahahaha ! Who loves this? Who loves the small (so small if you blink you miss it) Fluff between Rose and Dimitri this chapter? *raises hand* Silly readers,of coarse I do or I wouldn't write it that way :p Anyway's ! More Reviews = Happy Author (ME!) . Happy Author = More chapters :D More chapters = Happy readers(YOUUU),and of coarse Happy readers = More reviews sooo it is a never ending cycle people,don't break it ;)**

**-RozaBelikov123**


	5. Chapter 5

**YES! I am Back,Who missed me? Anyways I am in a really good mood because I have my Aunt hooked on Vampire academy! It excites me that I now have somebody in my family to talk to it about :D anyways enough about me! on with the story...**

**Disclaimer: Vampire academy is not mine! *Le Sob***

* * *

Rose's POV:

Christian started Reading."Chapter 4"

**WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ENTIRE commons' attention this time,**

"Thanks God" I muttered.

**thank God,**

Deja vu.

**but a few passing people had stopped to stare.**

**"What the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Doll Girl,**

"When are you gonna start using my real name?" Said Mia glarring with her blue eyes.

"Maybe when you stop being a bitch,you little porcelain freak." I said smirking. This was to much fun. I saw Mia open her mouth to respond until Kirova glared,and that shut her up.

**blue eyes wide and sparkling with fury. Up close now, I was able to get a better look at her. She had the same slim build as most Moroi but not the usual height, which was partly what made her look so young. The tiny purple dress she wore was gorgeous - reminding me that I was indeed dressed in thrift-shop wear - but closer inspection led me to think it was a designer knockoff.**

"If Anybody would know a Designer knockoff it would be me" Said the Queen smiling,and making up jump from hearing her the first time the whole book.

**I crossed my arms across my chest. "Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school's over on west campus."**

**A pink flush spread over her cheeks. "Don't you ever touch me again. You screw with me, and I'll screw you right back."**

"'t." I said through my teeth seeing a light bulb go above his still smirked.

"Cmon Little Dhampir all I was gonna say was I didn't know she bat for the other team." He said,His green eyes sparkling with amusement. I have to admit I had to control a laugh.

**Oh man, what an opening that was. Only a head shake from Lissa stopped me from unleashing any number of hilarious comebacks. Instead, I opted for simple brute force, so to speak.**

**"And if you mess with either of us again, I'll break you in half. If you don't believe me, go ask Dawn Yarrow about what I did to her arm in ninth grade.**

"People are still talking about it!" Yelled Mason Laughing.

"Yeah I gotta admit Hathaway,That was one of the finer moments of high the glory days." saud Eddie smiling.

**You were probably at nap time when it happened."**

**The incident with Dawn hadn't been one of my finer moments.**

"I repeat,It was one of mine" Said Eddie with a smirk.

**I honestly hadn't expected to break any bones when I shoved her into a tree. Still, the incident had given me a dangerous reputation, in addition to my smartass one.**

"Honestly Rose,When have you not been a smartass?" Asked Mason. Kirova didn't even try to stop the "Bad language" again seeing as it was no use.

**The story had gained legendary status, and I liked to imagine that it was still being told around campfires late at night. Judging from the look on this girl's face, it was.**

**One of the patrolling staff members strolled by right then, casting suspicious eyes at our little meeting. Doll Girl backed off, taking Aaron's arm. "Come on," she said.**

**"Hey, Aaron," I said cheerfully, remembering he was there. "Nice to see you again."**

**He gave me a quick nod and an uneasy smile, just as the girl dragged him off. Same old Aaron. He might be nice and cute, but aggressive he was not.**

**I turned to Lissa. "You okay?" She nodded. "Any idea who I just threatened to beat up?"**

**"Not a clue." I started to lead her toward the lunch line, but she shook her head at me. "Gotta go see the feeders."**

"Speaking of feeders,a moment please." said Abe as he walked to the kitchen and returned a moment later sipping blood in a ,and I find this amusing, Cup from a hat that said "I 3 Vampire academy" Everybody just starred at him a moment before breaking out into laughter.

"Honestly Where did you find this old man?" I asked. I don't know why I called him Old man,I just found it fitting.

"I figured get the hat,and I should be lasted for a while on blood." He said seriously taking another sip. Everybody had another round of laughter before we returned to the book.

**A funny feeling settled over me. I'd gotten so used to being her primary blood source that the thought of returning to the Moroi's normal routine seemed strange. In fact, it almost bothered me.**

"Rose!" yelled my mother .

"What mom?" I yelled back.

"I can't help what my book self thinks! Just remember,.me." I said with venom in my voice. It felt good to let it out and my mother shut up just starring at me.I smiled.

**It shouldn't have. Daily feedings were part of a Moroi's life, something I hadn't been able to offer her while living on our own. It had been an inconvenient situation, one that left me weak on feeding days and her weak on the days in between. I should have been happy she would get some normality.**

**I forced a smile. "Sure."**

**We walked into the feeding room, which sat adjacent to the cafeteria. It was set up with small cubicles, dividing the room's space in an effort to offer privacy. A dark-haired Moroi woman greeted us at the entrance and glanced down at her clipboard, flipping through the pages. Finding what she needed, she made a few notes and then gestured for Lissa to follow. Me she gave a puzzled look, but she didn't stop me from entering.**

"Yeah. Let me in the room of Crazy's and think I'm syko." I muttered.

**She led us to one of the cubicles where a plump, middle-aged woman sat leafing through a magazine. She looked up at our approach and smiled. In her eyes, I could see the dreamy, glazed-over look most feeders had. She'd probably neared her quota for the day, judging from how high she appeared to be.**

**Recognizing Lissa, her smile grew. "Welcome back, Princess."**

Lissa wrinkled her nose.

"I hate it when people call me that." She muttered.

**The greeter left us, and Lissa sat down in the chair beside the woman. I sensed a feeling of discomfort in her, a little different from my own. This was weird for her too; it had been a long time. The feeder, however, had no such reservations. An eager look crossed her face - the look of a junkie about to get her next fix.**

I Could see my mother open her mouth,then quickly shut it deciding the comment wasn't worth it.

**Disgust poured into me. It was an old instinct, one that had been drilled in over the years. Feeders were essential to Moroi life. They were humans who willingly volunteered to be a regular blood source, humans from the fringes of society who gave their lives over to the secret world of the Moroi. They were well cared for and given all the comforts they could need. But at the heart of it, they were drug users, addicts to Moroi saliva and the rush it offered with each bite. The Moroi - and guardians - looked down on this dependency, even though the Moroi couldn't have survived otherwise unless they took victims by force. Hypocrisy at its finest.**

"Indeed" Agreed Dimitri.

**The feeder tilted her head, giving Lissa full access to her neck. Her skin there was marked with scars from years of daily bites. The infrequent feedings Lissa and I had done had kept my neck clear; my bite marks never lasted more than a day or so.**

**Lissa leaned forward, fangs biting into the feeder's yielding flesh. The woman closed her eyes, making a soft sound of pleasure. I swallowed, watching Lissa drink. I couldn't see any blood, but I could imagine it. A surge of emotion grew in my chest: longing. Jealousy.**

My mom narrowed her eyes,but otherwise stayed quiet.

**I averted my eyes, staring at the floor. Mentally, I scolded myself.**

**What's wrong with you? Why should you miss it? You only did it once every day. You aren't addicted, not like this. And you don't want to be.**

This time my mom nodded in approval,but they tightness of her eyes stayed.

**But I couldn't help myself, couldn't help the way I felt as I recalled the bliss and rush of a vampire's bite.**

**Lissa finished and we returned to the commons, moving toward the lunch line. It was short, since we only had fifteen minutes left, and I strolled up and began to load my plate with french fries and some rounded, bite-size objects that looked vaguely like chicken nuggets.**

"Only Rose would eat something she can't identify." Said Mason smiling,lightening the mood.

**Lissa only grabbed a yogurt. Moroi needed food, as dhampirs and humans did, but rarely had an appetite after drinking blood.**

**"So how'd classes go?" I asked.**

**She shrugged. Her face was bright with color and life now. "Okay. Lots of stares. A lot of stares. Lots of questions about where we were. Whispering."**

"Of Coarse" muttered Lissa.

**"Same here," I said. The attendant checked us out, and we walked toward the tables. I gave Lissa a sidelong glance. "You okay with that? They aren't bothering you, are they?"**

**"No - it's fine." The emotions coming through the bond contradicted her words. Knowing I could feel that, she tried to change the subject by handing me her class schedule. I looked it over.**

**1st Period Russian 2**

**2nd Period American Colonial Literature**

**3rd Period Basics of Elemental Control**

**4th Period Ancient Poetry**

**-Lunch -**

**5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology**

**6th Period Advanced Calculus**

**7th Period Moroi Culture 4**

**8th Period Slavic Art**

**"Nerd," I said. "If you were in Stupid Math like me, we'd have the same afternoon schedule."**

"Yeah Lissa. How could you be smart! What's wrong with you." Said Mason with the roll of his eyes.

**I stopped walking. "Why are you in elemental basics? That's a sophomore class."**

**She eyed me. "Because seniors take specialized classes."**

I saw Lissa tense up. She's always been worried about not specializing.

**We fell silent at that. All Moroi wielded elemental magic. It was one of the things that differentiated living vampires from Strigoi, the dead vampires. Moroi viewed magic as a gift. It was part of their souls and connected them to the world.**

"Yes" Said Christian with a grin as he held a hand away from the book and it lit up in fire. I narrowed my eyes.

"Listen Fireball. That R.M. lady has had everything we needed so far,but I'm not to sure she packed a fire extinguisher around here so I suggest you put it out or I'm gonna throw you into a tub of water,and make you stay there till were finished. K? K." I said sitting back with a smirk. He was obviously pissed by the look on his face but decided it wasn't worth it and kept reading.

**A long time ago, they had used their magic openly - averting natural disasters and helping with things like food and water production. They didn't need to do that as much anymore, but the magic was still in their blood. It burned in them and made them want to reach out to the earth and wield their power. Academies like this existed to help Moroi control the magic and learn how to do increasingly complex things with it. Students also had to learn the rules that surrounded magic, rules that had been in place for centuries and were strictly enforced.**

"And for Now that's how it will stay." Said Tatiana firmly.

**All Moroi had a small ability in each element. When they got to be around our age, students "specialized" when one element grew stronger than the others: earth, water, fire, or air. Not specializing was like not going through puberty.**

**And Lissa well, Lissa hadn't specialized yet.**

"Thanks Rosie. You are my rock." Said Lissa.

**"Is Ms. Carmack still teaching that? What she'd say?"**

**"She says she's not worried. She thinks it'll come."**

**"Did you - did you tell her about - "**

**Lissa shook her head. "No. Of course not."**

**We let the subject drop. It was one we thought about a lot but rarely spoke of.**

"Well tell us what you meant little Dhampir! I'm curious now,and must know" Said Adrian folding his hands and putting his head on them. He looked much like a kindergartner getting ready for story time.

"Or how about you shut your damn mouth and let us finish the story and find out like everybody else." I said with a sugary sweet smile. I heard a couple snorts and giggles before Christian continued.

**We started moving again, scanning the tables as we decided where to sit. A few pairs of eyes looked up at us with blatant curiosity.**

**"Lissa!" came a nearby voice. Glancing over, we saw Natalie waving at us. Lissa and I exchanged looks. Natalie was sort of Lissa's cousin in the way Victor was sort of her uncle, but we'd never hung out with her all that much.**

"I'd Give anything to be with her and out of here" sighed Lissa.

**Lissa shrugged and headed in that direction. "Why not?"**

**I followed reluctantly. Natalie was nice but also one of the most uninteresting people I knew. Most royals at the school enjoyed a kind of celebrity status, but Natalie had never fit in with that crowd. She was too plain, too uninterested in the politics of the Academy, and too clueless to really navigate them anyway.**

I felt through the bond Lissa agreed with me.

**Natalie's friends eyed us with a quiet curiosity, but she didn't hold back. She threw her arms around us. Like Lissa, she had jade-green eyes, but her hair was jet black, like Victor's had been before his disease grayed it.**

**"You're back! I knew you would be! Everyone said you were gone forever, but I never believed that. I knew you couldn't stay away. Why'd you go? There are so many stories about why you left!" Lissa and I exchanged glances as Natalie prattled on.**

"Ahh Let the lies begin" I said rubbing my hands together and smiling.

**"Camille said one of you got pregnant and went off to have an abortion,**

"Somebody has an over active imagination!" I sang.

**but I knew that couldn't be true. Someone else said you went off to hang out with Rose's mom,**

I snorted,but stayed quiet knowing my mom wouldn't like the comment I wanted to make.

**but I figured Ms. Kirova and Daddy wouldn't have been so upset if you'd turned up there. Did you know we might get to be roommates? I was talking to "**

**On and on she chatted, flashing her fangs as she spoke.**

That's Natalie. Talking till someone says shut up.

**I smiled politely, letting Lissa deal with the onslaught until Natalie asked a dangerous question.**

_uh oh._ I thought.

**"What'd you do for blood, Lissa?"**

Me and Lissa both froze. It was bad enough these people knew in real life. I had no idea how these would act in book life.

**The table regarded us questioningly. Lissa froze, but I immediately jumped in, the lie coming effortlessly to my lips.**

**"Oh, it's easy. There are a lot of humans who want to do it."**

**"Really?" asked one of Natalie's friends, wide-eyed.**

**"Yup. You find em at parties and stuff. They're all looking for a fix from something, and they don't really get that a vampire's doing it: most are already so wasted they don't remember anyway."**

"Rose your a genius!" Lissa squealed.

**My already vague details dried up, so I simply shrugged in as cool and confident a way as I could manage. It wasn't like any of them knew any better. "Like I said, it's easy. Almost easier than with our own feeders."**

**Natalie accepted this and than launched into some other topic. Lissa shot me a grateful look.**

**Ignoring the conversation again, I took in the old faces, trying to figure out who was hanging out with whom and how power had shifted within the school. Mason, sitting with a group of novices, caught my eye, and I smiled.**

"Awhh does Rosie like me?" Mason teased.

**Near him, a group of Moroi royals sat, laughing over something. Aaron and the blond girl sat there too.**

"Blondes better then Doll" muttered Mia.

**"Hey, Natalie," I said, turning around and cutting her off. She didn't seem to notice or mind. "Who's Aaron's new girlfriend?"**

**"Huh? Oh. Mia Rinaldi." Seeing my blank look, she asked, "Don't you remember her?"**

**"Should I? Was she here when we left?"**

**"She's always been here," said Natalie. "She's only a year younger than us."**

My head snapped to mia.

"Really? Only a Year?" I asked. She stayed silent.

**I shot a questioning look at Lissa, who only shrugged.**

**"Why is she so pissed off at us?" I asked. "Neither of us know her."**

**"I don't know," answered Natalie. "Maybe she's jealous about Aaron. She wasn't much of anybody when you guys left. She got really popular really fast. She isn't royal or anything, but once she started dating Aaron, she - "**

"I think it's time to shut up Natalie" I muttered.

**"Okay, thanks," I interrupted. "It doesn't really - "**

**My eyes lifted up from Natalie's face to Jesse Zeklos's, just as he passed by our table. Ah, Jesse. I'd forgotten about him.**

I'm pretty sure my eyes lit up when I heard Jesse. I don't love him,quite the opposite actually. But I do enjoy having fun.

**I liked flirting with Mason and some of the other novices, but Jesse was in an entirely different category. You flirted with the other guys simply for the sake of flirting. You flirted with Jesse in the hopes of getting semi-naked with him.**

I started blushing at this as all the male's in the room (excluding Abe who looked like he Could've killed Jesse if he knew who he was) gave me look like they were imaging me Semi-Naked,which made me blush harder.

**He was a royal Moroi, and he was so hot, he should have worn a warning: flammable sign. He met my eyes and grinned.**

**"Hey Rose, welcome back. You still breaking hearts?"**

**"Are you volunteering?"**

**His grin widened. "Let's hang out sometime and find out. If you ever get parole."**

I saw Lissa give me a look then said through her mind "_Rose,This better not be trouble."_

**He kept walking, and I watched him admiringly. Natalie and her friends stared at me in awe. I might not be a god in the Dimitri sense, but with this group, Lissa and I were gods - or at least former gods - of another nature.**

**"Oh my gawd," exclaimed one girl. I didn't remember her name. "That was Jesse."**

"And that's Lissa and That's Christian,and Mason and Eddie!" I said pointing out the people in the room and then doing a mock gasp. I saw everybody suppress a laugh,and I swear from the corner of my eye I saw Dimitri smile a bit. It made me feel like I've accomplished so much.

**"Yes," I said, smiling. "It certainly was."**

**"I wish I looked like you," she added with a sigh.**

"Don't everybody" I said sarcastically and flipped my hair.

**Their eyes fell on me. Technically, I was half-Moroi, but my looks were human. I'd blended in well with humans during our time away, so much so that I'd barely thought about my appearance at all. Here, among the slim and small-chested Moroi girls, certain features - meaning my larger breasts and more defined hips - stood out.**

"Yes they do" muttered Adrian,and I threw another paint-ball at him.

"Eyes up Slick" I hissed.

**I knew I was pretty, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than just pretty: it was sexy in a risqu way. Dhampirs were an exotic conquest, a novelty all Moroi guys wanted to "try."**

I glared at Adrian,daring him to make another comment.

**It was ironic that dhampirs had such an allure here, because slender Moroi girls looked very much like the super-skinny runway models so popular in the human world. Most humans could never reach that "ideal" skinniness, just as Moroi girls could never look like me. Everyone wanted what she couldn't have.**

In my mind,Dimitri's eyes flickered to me. At least I think it was my mind...

**Lissa and I got to sit together in our shared afternoon classes but didn't do much talking. The stares she'd mentioned certainly did follow us, but I found that the more I talked to people, the more they warmed up. Slowly, gradually, they seemed to remember who we were, and the novelty - though not the intrigue - of our crazy stunt wore off.**

**Or maybe I should say, they remembered who I was. Because I was the only one talking. Lissa stared straight ahead, listening but neither acknowledging nor participating in my attempts at conversation. I could feel anxiety and sadness pouring out of her.**

**"All right," I told her when classes finally ended. We stood outside the school, and I was fully aware that in doing so, I was already breaking the terms of my agreement with Kirova. "We're not staying here," I told her, looking around the campus uneasily. "I'm going to find a way to get us out."**

"I saw it coming." Muttered Kirova.

**"You think we could really do it a second time?" Lissa asked quietly.**

**"Absolutely." I spoke with certainty, again relieved she couldn't read my feelings. Escaping the first time had been tricky enough. Doing it again would be a real bitch, not that I couldn't still find a way.**

**"You really would, wouldn't you?" She smiled, more to herself than to me, like she'd thought of something funny. "Of course you would. It's just, well " She sighed. "I don't know if we should go. Maybe - maybe we should stay."**

I looked at Lissa like she was crazy,and she just shrugged.

**I blinked in astonishment. "What?" Not one of my more eloquent answers, but the best I could manage. I'd never expected this from her.**

**"I saw you, Rose. I saw you talking to the other novices during class, talking about practice. You miss that."**

"No I don't" I muttered. It truth,I really _did_ Miss it. But I wasn't gonna let Lissa know that. I would never let my feeling get in the way. _They Come First._

"Yeah,Love you to Rose." Said Mason and Eddie back,I smiled apologetically.

**"It's not worth it," I argued. "Not if not if you " I couldn't finish, but she was right. She'd read me. I had missed the other novices.**

"I knew it!" Yelled Mason like he just won the super bowl.

**Even some of the Moroi. But there was more to it than just that. The weight of my inexperience, how much I'd fallen behind, had been growing all day.**

"So your just worried your not good enough? Rose you don't need to run from that. You need to stay and learn." Said Dimitri.

**"It might be better," she countered. "I haven't had as many you know, things happening in a while. I haven't felt like anyone was following or watching us."**

Everybody looked at us. Uh oh here it comes.

**I didn't say anything to that. Before we'd left the Academy, she'd always felt like someone was following her, like she was being hunted. I'd never seen evidence to support that, but I had once heard one of our teachers go on and on about the same sort of thing. Ms. Karp. She'd been a pretty Moroi, with deep auburn air and high cheekbones. And I was pretty sure she'd been crazy.**

"." Muttered Kirova looking back from the book and Lissa,like she was trying to figure out something.

**"You never know who's watching," she used to say, walking briskly around the classroom as she shut all the blinds. "Or who's following you. Best to be safe. Best to always be safe." We'd snickered amongst ourselves because that's what students do around eccentric and paranoid teachers. The thought of Lissa acting like her bothered me.**

**"What's wrong?" Lissa asked, noticing that I was lost in thought.**

"You know me to well Liss.." I said

**"Huh? Nothing. Just thinking." I sighed, trying to balance my own wants with what was best for her. "Liss, we can stay, I guess but there are a few conditions."**

**This made her laugh. "A Rose ultimatum, huh?"**

"Of coarse Rose" Said Lissa shaking her head with a smile on her face.

**"I'm serious." Words I didn't say very much. "I want you to stay away from the royals. Not like Natalie or anything but you know, the others. The power players. Camille. Carly. That group."**

**Her amusement turned to astonishment. "Are you serious?"**

**"Sure. You never liked them anyway."**

**"You did."**

**"No. Not really. I liked what they could offer. All the parties and stuff."**

**"And you can go without that now?" She looked skeptical.**

**"Sure. We did in Portland."**

Mason and Eddie looked at me in shock. I've always been the party girl,but I guess being in Portland changed me. Wow.

**"Yeah, but that was different." Her eyes stared off, not really focused on any one thing. "Here here I've got to be a part of that. I can't avoid it."**

**"The hell you do. Natalie stays out of that stuff."**

**"Natalie isn't going to inherit her family's title," she retorted. "I've already got it. I've got to be involved, start making connections. Andre - "**

_Lissa_. I groaned mentally. But some part of my mind Saw Mia look at the book with a new intensity at the mention of Andre.

**"Liss," I groaned. "You aren't Andre." I couldn't believe she was still comparing herself to her brother.**

**"He was always involved in all that stuff."**

**"Yeah, well," I snapped back, "he's dead now."**

Lissa's face hardened. I could feel how mad she was through the bond.

"Excuse me" She said swiftly and left the room I groaned and excused my self to follow after her.

"Lissa?" I asked walking into the room she was in. She looked up and I saw the tear streaks down her face.

"Oh Liss" I said running and grabbing her in a hug. She sat in my arms and cried.

"I'm Sorry" I said looking at her wiping her tears.

"You know how Easily mad I can get,but I mean some part of what I said. You need to quite comparing yourself to Andre. Your not him. You can carry on with your family title,but you don't have to be like your own person Liss." I through the bond I could sense my words were soothing her.

"Now let's go finish this book so we can get out of here sooner." I said and She agreed and we entered the room again,after everybody asked how she felt we all sat down. and continued.

**Her face hardened. "You know, sometimes you aren't very nice."**

"I never said I was nice" I said sarcastically.

**"You don't keep me around to be nice. You want nice, there are a dozen sheep in there who would rip each other's throats to get in good with the Dragomir princess. You keep me around to tell you the truth, and here it is: Andre's dead. You're the heir now, and you're going to deal with it however you can. But for now, that means staying away from the other royals. We'll just lie low. Coast through the middle. Get involved in that stuff again, Liss, and you'll drive yourself "**

**"Crazy?" she supplied when I didn't finish.**

"Why must I always put my foot in my mouth?" I muttered.

**Now I looked away. "I didn't mean "**

**"It's okay." she said, after a moment. She sighed and touched my arm. "Fine. We'll stay and we'll keep out of all that stuff. We'll coast through the middle' like you want. Hang out with Natalie, I guess."**

"Your to understanding for me Liss" I said

**To be perfectly honest, I didn't want any of that. I wanted to go to all the royal parties and wild drunken festivities like we'd done before.**

"Well you haven't changed too much" said Mason smirking.

**We'd kept out of that life for years until Lissa's parents and brother died. Andre should have been the one to inherit her family's title, and he'd certainly acted like it. Handsome and outgoing, he'd charmed everyone he knew and had been a leader in all the royal cliques and clubs that existed on campus.**

I saw Mia's fist tighten,and I saw Fire in her eyes. I just wish I knew why.

**After his death, Lissa had felt it was her family duty to take his place.**

**I'd gotten to join that world with her. It was easy for me, because I didn't really have to deal with the politics of it. I was a pretty dhampir, one who didn't mind getting into trouble and pulling crazy stunts.**

"Which you have proved repeatably " Sneered Kirova.

**I became a novelty; they liked having me around for the fun of it.**

**Lissa had to deal with other matters. The Dragomirs were one of the twelve ruling families. She'd have a very powerful place in Moroi society,**

"And very special since you are the last one to" Said Dimitri.

**and the other young royals wanted to get in good with her. Fake friends tried to schmooze her and get her to team up against other people. The royals could bribe and backstab in the same breath - and that was just with each other. To dhampirs and non-royals, they were completely unpredictable.**

**That cruel culture had eventually taken its toll on Lissa. She had an open, kind nature, one that I loved, and I hated to see her upset and stressed by royal games. She'd grown fragile since the accident, and all the parties in the world weren't worth seeing her hurt.**

Lissa just looked at me.

**"All right then," I said finally. "We'll see how this goes. If anything goes wrong - anything at all - we leave. No arguments."**

**She nodded.**

**"Rose?"**

**We both looked up at Dimitri's looming form. I hoped he hadn't heard the part about us leaving.**

**"You're late for practice," he said evenly. Seeing Lissa, he gave a polite nod. "Princess."**

Lissa wrinkled her nose again and looked around.

"If _Any_ of you call me princess,Don't even ask what will happen when we get out of here." She said,and for once everybody looked_ actually_ scared of Vasilisa Dragomir.

**As he and I walked away, I worried about Lissa and wondered if staying here was the right thing to do. I felt nothing alarming through the bond, but her emotions spiked all over the place. Confusion. Nostalgia. Fear. Anticipation. Strong and powerful, they flooded into me.**

**I felt the pull just before it happened. It was exactly like what had happened on the plane: her emotions grew so strong that they "sucked" me into her head before I could stop them. I could now see and feel what she did.**

"Not again" She groaned.

**She walked slowly around the commons, toward the small Russian Orthodox chapel that served most of the school's religious needs. Lissa had always attended mass regularly. Not me.**

**I had a standing arrangement with God: I'd agree to believe in him - barely - so long as he let me sleep in on Sundays.**

"It doesn't work that way." Whispered Sydney in a small voice holding the cross on her neck. Her voice was so small I don't know if she even meant to say it out loud.

**But as she went inside, I could feel that she wasn't there to pray. She had another purpose, one I didn't know about. Glancing around, she verified that neither the priest nor any worshippers were close by. The place was empty.**

**Slipping through a doorway in the back of the chapel, she climbed a narrow set of creaky stairs up into the attic.**

Christians eyes lit up at the mention of the attic,and I wondered why.

**Here it was dark and dusty. The only light came through a large stained-glass window that fractured the faint glow of sunrise into tiny, multicolored gems across the floor.**

**I hadn't known until that moment that this room was a regular retreat for Lissa. But now I could feel it, feel her memories of how she used to escape here to be alone and to think. The anxiety in her ebbed away ever so slightly as she took in the familiar surroundings. She climbed up into the window seat and leaned her head back against its side, momentarily entranced by the silence and the light.**

**Moroi could stand some sunlight, unlike the Strigoi, but they had to limit their exposure. Sitting here, she could almost pretend she was in the sun, protected by the glass's dilution of the rays.**

**_Breathe, just breathe_****, she told herself. ****_It'll be okay. Rose will take care of everything._**

"Awh you have faith in me" I teased,and She smiled rolling her eyes.

**She believed that passionately, like always, and relaxed further.**

**Then a low voice spoke from the darkness.**

**"You can have the Academy but not the window seat."**

**She sprang up, heart pounding. I shared her anxiety, and my own pulse quickened. "Who's there?"**

**A moment later, a shape rose from behind a stack of crates, just outside her field of vision. The figure stepped forward, and in the poor lighting, familiar features materialized. Messy black hair. Pale blue eyes. A perpetually sardonic smirk.**

**Christian Ozera.**

"Finally! I was beginning to think I was here for nothing." He said

**"Don't worry," he said. "I won't bite. Well, at least not in the way you're afraid of." He chuckled at his own joke.**

I Narrowed my eyes.

"Not funny Fire ball." I said.

**She didn't find it funny. She had completely forgotten about Christian. So had I.**

**No matter what happened in our world, a few basic truths about vampires remained the same. Moroi were alive; Strigoi were undead. Moroi were mortal; Strigoi were immortal. Moroi were born; Strigoi were made.**

Everybody in the room shivered at this,It just suprised me Christian did to.

**And there were two ways to make a Strigoi. Strigoi could forcibly turn humans, dhampirs, or Moroi with a single bite. Moroi tempted by the promise of immortality could become Strigoi by choice if they purposely killed another person while feeding. Doing that was considered dark and twisted, the greatest of all sins, both against the Moroi way of life and nature itself.**

"Amen" muttered Sydney.

**Moroi who chose this dark path lost their ability to connect with elemental magic and other powers of the world. That was why they could no longer go into the sun.**

**This is what had happened to Christian's parents. They were Strigoi.**

I Saw Christian Stiffen at this. He wordlessly handed off the book to the next person. Now to read was none other then Adrian Ivashkov. Great.

* * *

**Who loves this chapter? meee! Review my loveley Reviewers/Readers! Tell me what you like,hate,or what you wanna see. Oh and to some of you I know the story is moving kind of slow,but I'm trying to balance this with school and my babysitting job soooooo I'm trying my best. Hope you guys understand. oh and 1 more thing! I have decided (because I am INCREDIBLY bored) that I am going to have a contest! This is how it works,each knew chapter I will post some Vampire academy triva. Some questions will be harder then others. Each question (2 each chapter) will be worth 2 points (except that the bonus questions which I will post at random which will be worth 5) which means you can earn up to 4 points to each chapter. I will post the scores at the beginning of each chapter,to let you know who's winning and everything. The winner is the first one to 36 (cause it's my favorite number :D) and in the event of a tie..well you will just find out. Anyways the prize to the winner will be a part in my story :D yes you heard me why,don't ask how i will put you in my story cause that is top secert. Anyways here is your guys first questions and just answer in reviews.**

**did Christian light on fire, but left the victim unharmed?**

**are twelve royal Moroi families. What are five of the twelve royal families? (name any 5)**

**Happy reviewing!**

**ps: Sorry for the long A/N**

**-Rozabelikov123**


	6. Chapter 6

**OK thank you guys so much for being the most amazing readers ever! Your reviews make my week and I am so sorry I didn't update last week,but I have a good excuse,My computer crashed :'( (i am currently updateing on my grandmother's computer which is slower then a dinosaur :/)**

**ps: Yes I do know my spelling/grammar can be horrible but please give me a break. I just started high-school I ain't gonna be perfect,so just bare with me till I get a beta.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own vampire academy,But I do own Abe's imaginary "I 3 Vampire Academy" Hat xD**

Rose's POV:

"Oh this is gonna be fun" said Adrian rubbing his hands together in an evil way.

"Adrian" I warned,holding up my pouch with paint balls. Some more fear flashed in his eyes,and I sat back relaxed for a second as he started reading.

**OR RATHER, THEY HAD BEEN Strigoi.**

Everybody could still see Christian as stiff as a bored,but who could blame him.

**A regiment of guardians had hunted them down and killed them. If rumors were true, Christian had witnessed it all when he was very young. And although he wasn't Strigoi himself, some people thought he wasn't far off, with the way he always wore black and kept to himself.**

"Can you blame me" He whispered,though I suspected it was more to himself than anybody else here.

**Strigoi or not, I didn't trust him. He was a jerk,**

"Well thank you Rose,I try my best" He said with a mocking smile. OK I don't feel so sorry anymore.

**and I silently screamed at Lissa to get out of there - not that my screaming did much good. Stupid one-way bond.**

"Seriously? I thought you liked that I couldn't get into your head." asked Lissa,I shrugged.

**"What are you doing here?" she asked.**

**"Taking in the sights, of course. That chair with the tarp on it is particularly lovely this time of year. Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir. And let's not forget that beautiful table with no legs in the corner."**

"Smartass" I muttered.

"Oh yeah Rose sorry I forgot that was your job" Said Christian with a smirk,why must I be stuck here?

**"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and moved toward the door, wanting to leave, but he blocked her way.**

"You better hope book you moves or real you will be in the hospital" I sneered.

**"Well, what about you?" he taunted. "Why are you up here? Don't you have parties to go to or lives to destroy?"**

I opened my mouth but Lissa gave me a look that shut me up.

**Some of Lissa's old spark returned. "Wow, that's hilarious. Am I like a rite of passage now? Go and see if you can piss off Lissa to prove how cool you are? Some girl I don't even know yelled at me today, and now I've got to deal with you? What does it take to be left alone?"**

**"Oh. So that's why you're up here. For a pity party."**

**"This isn't a joke. I'm serious." I could tell Lissa was getting angry. It was trumping her earlier distress.**

OK as much as I hate to admit it this book is getting good...

**He shrugged and leaned casually against the sloping wall. "So am I. I love pity parties. I wish I'd brought the hats. What do you want to mope about first? How it's going to take you a whole day to be popular and loved again? How you'll have to wait a couple weeks before Hollister can ship out some new clothes? If you spring for rush shipping, it might not be so long."**

I gave Christan a look and I could tell he was secretly praying for his life now. Ahhh I love being able to scare people.

**"Let me leave," she said angrily, this time pushing him aside.**

**"Wait," he said, as she reached the door. The sarcasm disappeared from his voice. "What um, what was it like?"**

**"What was what like?" she snapped.**

**"Being out there. Away from the Academy."**

**She hesitated for a moment before answering, caught off guard by what seemed like a genuine attempt at conversation. "It was great. No one knew who I was. I was just another face. Not Moroi. Not royal. Not anything." She looked down at the floor. "Everyone here thinks they know who I am."**

Everybody looked at Lissa,but for different reasons. Most people did because they didn't know Lissa thought like this. I did because I couldn't believe she was telling it all to _Christian Ozera._

**"Yeah. It's kind of hard to outlive your past," he said bitterly.**

**It occurred to Lissa at that moment - and me to by default - just how hard it might be to be Christian. Most of the time, people treated him like he didn't exist. Like he was a ghost. They didn't talk to or about him. They just didn't notice him. The stigma of his parents' crime was too strong, casting its shadow onto the entire Ozera family.**

Christian and Lissa just looked at each other for a moment and I saw what was going through her head,and I didn't like it. Not one bit.

**Still, he'd pissed her off, and she wasn't about to feel sorry for him.**

**"Wait - is this your pity party now?"**

**He laughed, almost approvingly. "This room has been my pity party for a year now."**

**"Sorry," said Lissa snarkily. "I was coming here before I left. I've got a longer claim."**

**"Squatters' rights. Besides, I have to make sure I stay near the chapel as much as possible so people know I haven't gone Strigoi yet." Again, the bitter tone rang out.**

"Lovely" said Adrian.

**"I used to always see you at mass. Is that the only reason you go? To look good?" Strigoi couldn't enter holy ground. More of that sinning-against-the-world thing.**

**"Sure," he said. "Why else go? For the good of your soul?"**

**"Whatever," said Lissa, who clearly had a different opinion. "I'll leave you alone then."**

**"Wait," he said again. He didn't seem to want her to go. "I'll make you a deal. You can hang out here too if you tell me one thing."**

**"What?" She glanced back at him.**

**He leaned forward. "Of all the rumors I heard about you today - and believe me, I heard plenty, even if no one actually told them to me - there was one that didn't come up very much. They dissected everything else: why you left, what you did out there, why you came back, the specialization, what Rose said to Mia, blah, blah, blah. And in all of that, no one, no one ever questioned that stupid story that Rose told about there being all sorts of fringe humans who let you take blood."**

I quickly turned my head to Christian.

"What we did out in the world is none of your fucking business Ozera!" I said fiercely,he looked took .

**She looked away, and I could feel her cheeks starting to burn. "It's not stupid. Or a story."**

**He laughed softly. "I've lived with humans. My aunt and I stayed away after my parents died. It's not that easy to find blood." When she didn't answer, he laughed again. "It was Rose, wasn't it? She fed you."**

"Why do you care?" I yelled to Christian. He just looked from me to Lissa and back to me before finally saying...

"I don't know..."6

**A renewed fear shot through both her and me. No one at school could know about that. Kirova and the guardians on the scene knew, but they'd kept that knowledge to themselves.**

**"Well. If that's not friendship, I don't know what it is," he said.**

**"You can't tell anyone," she blurted out.**

"Nice Liss,we need to work on lieing" I muttered.

**This was all we needed. As I'd just been reminded, feeders were vampire-bite addicts. We accepted that as part of life but still looked down on them for it. For anyone else - especially a dhampir - letting a Moroi take blood from you was almost, well, dirty. In fact, one of the kinkiest, practically pornographic things a dhampir could do was let a Moroi drink blood during sex.**

"Blood whores" I muttered before I could stop my self,I looked over to see Dimitri's family look a little ashamed,and I saw Sydney look more disgisted then ever.

**Lissa and I hadn't had sex, of course,**

"Ahh the images though" said Adrian with closed eyes. Wrong words . I threw at least 7 paint balls at laughed,even the human, small moroi who's been quite most of the time,as Adrian Ivashkov became a pretty rainbow.

"Try me again Ivashkov" I said holding up another paintball,he immediately started reading.

**but we'd both known what others would think of me feeding her.**

**"Don't tell anyone," Lissa repeated.**

**He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and sat down on one of the crates. "Who am I going to tell? Look, go grab the window seat. You can have it today and hang out for a while. If you're not still afraid of me."**

Cmon Liss be afraid!

**She hesitated, studying him. He looked dark and surly, lips curled in a sort of I'm-such-a-rebel smirk. But he didn't look too dangerous. He didn't look Strigoi. Gingerly, she sat back down in the window seat, unconsciously rubbing her arms against the cold.**

Damnit!

**Christian watched her, and a moment later, the air warmed up considerably.**

**Lissa met Christian's eyes and smiled, surprised she'd never noticed how icy blue they were before. "You specialized in fire?"**

Ahh a little fireball.

**He nodded and pulled up a broken chair. "Now we have luxury accommodations."**

**I snapped out of the vision.**

**"Rose? Rose?"**

**Blinking, I focused on Dimitri's face. He was leaning toward me, his hands gripping my shoulders. I'd stopped walking; we stood in the middle of the quad separating the upper school buildings.**

"Well that certainly was interesting...strange but interesting none the less." Said Kirova

**"Are you all right?"**

**"I yeah. I was I was with Lissa " I put a hand to my forehead. I'd never had such a long or clear experience like that. "I was in her head."**

**"Her head?"**

**"Yeah. It's part of the bond." I didn't really feel like elaborating.**

**"Is she all right?"**

**"Yeah, she's " I hesitated. Was she all right? Christian Ozera had just invited her to hang out with him. Not good. There was "coasting through the middle," and then there was turning to the dark side. But the feelings humming through our bond were no longer scared or upset. She was almost content, though still a little nervous. "She's not in danger," I finally said. I hoped.**

"No Rose I thought I'd just keep her as a snack" Said Christian sarcastically,smiling with his fangs. I saw Sydney unconsciously move more towards the door.

**"Can you keep going?"**

"That's what she said!" Boomed Mason speaking for the first time this chapter. I glared,from Adrian,yeah I'd except,but Mason? Lord kill me now!

**The hard, stoic warrior I'd met earlier was gone - just for a moment - and he actually looked concerned. Truly concerned.**

"I have feeling to Rose" Dimitri said smiling at me,But I could tell it wasn't a full smile,it was a guarded smile.

**Feeling his eyes on me like that made something flutter inside of me - which was stupid, of course. I had no reason to get all goofy, just because the man was too good-looking for his own good.**

"Awh! Rosie Posie got a crush!" teased Eddie. Mason laughed with him,but it was an awkward laugh.I couldn't help but wonder why,although I had a feeling.

**After all, he was an antisocial god, according to Mason. One who was supposedly going to leave me in all sorts of pain.**

"Fun fun fun"

**"Yeah. I'm fine."**

**I went into the gym's dressing room and changed into the workout clothes someone had finally thought to give me after a day of practicing in jeans and a T-shirt. Gross. Lissa hanging out with Christian troubled me, but I shoved that thought away for later as my muscles informed me they did not want to go through any more exercise today.**

**So I suggested to Dimitri that maybe he should let me off this time.**

**He laughed, and I was pretty sure it was at me and not with me.**

**"Why is that funny?"**

**"Oh," he said, his smile dropping. "You were serious."**

"Duh!" I said.

**"Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed," I whined. "It's just one hour."**

**He crossed his arms and looked down at me. His earlier concern was gone. He was all business now. Tough love. "How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?"**

**"I hurt like hell."**

**"You'll feel worse tomorrow."**

**"So?"**

**"So, better to jump in now while you still feel not as bad."**

**"What kind of logic is that?" I retorted.**

**But I didn't argue anymore as he led me into the weight room. He showed me the weights and reps he wanted me to do, then sprawled in a corner with a battered Western novel. Some god.**

**When I finished, he stood beside me and demonstrated a few cool-down stretches.**

**"How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian?" I asked. "You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?"**

**He didn't answer right away. I got the feeling he didn't talk about himself very often.**

"Not usually" said Dimitri.`

**"No.** **I attended the one in Siberia."**

**"Whoa. That's got to be the only place worse than Montana."**

Every Russian in the room narrowed their eyes at I guess they don't have Humor in Russia.

**A glint of something - maybe amusement - sparked in his eyes, but he didn't acknowledge the joke. "After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently." His smile dropped, his face grew dark.**

The real Dimitri's face grew just as dark.

**"They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus."**

**I thought about what he'd said before. Some Strigoi killed the guy he was supposed to have been guarding? "Did this lord die on your watch?"**

**"No. He was with his other guardian. I was away."**

"Doesn't make me feel any better" he whispered.

**He fell silent, his mind obviously somewhere else. The Moroi expected a lot from us, but they did recognize that the guardians were - more or less - only human. So, guardians got pay and time off like you'd get in any other job.**

"Woo" I said sarcastically,twirling my finger.

**Some hard-core guardians - like my mom - refused vacations, vowing never to leave their Moroi's sides. Looking at Dimitri now, I had a feeling he might very well turn into one of those. If he'd been away on legitimate leave, he could hardly blame himself for what happened to that guy. Still, he probably did anyway.**

Dimitri just looked at me.

**I'd blame myself too if something happened to Lissa.**

Me and Lissa just stared at each other.

**"Hey," I said, suddenly wanting to cheer him up, "did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that."**

**He arched an eyebrow curiously. Cool. I'd always wished I could do that.**

Great,I hate my thoughts being voiced.

"Oh Rose you are something" Said Abe,still drinking from his hat.

**"You're complimenting me on that?"**

**"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried."**

**"Last one?"**

**"Yeah. In Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds."**

**"This was the first time we found you. In Portland."**

"Then who the hell sent the hounds! dang it I wanna know!"

**I sat up from my stretches and crossed my legs. "Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi. Maybe no one told you about it."**

**"Maybe," he said dismissively. I could tell by his face he didn't believe that.**

Neither do i...

**I returned to the novices' dorm after that. The Moroi students lived on the other side of the quad, closer to the commons. The living arrangements were partly based on convenience. Being here kept us novices closer to the gym and training grounds. But we also lived separately to accommodate the differences in Moroi and dhampir lifestyles. Their dorm had almost no windows, aside from tinted ones that dimmed sunlight. They also had a special section where feeders always stayed on hand. The novices' dorm was built in a more open way, allowing for more light.**

Gotta love being a dhampir.

**I had my own room because there were so few novices, let alone girls. The room they'd given me was small and plain, with a twin bed and a desk with a computer.**

Ugg great.

**My few belongings had been spirited out of Portland and now sat in boxes around the room. I rummaged through them, pulling out a T-shirt to sleep in. I found a couple of pictures as I did, one of Lissa and me at a football game in Portland and another taken when I'd gone on vacation with her family, a year before the accident.**

Lissa stiffened up. Damn! Can't this book go one chapter without mentioning it ?

**I set them on my desk and booted up the computer. Someone from tech support had helpfully given me a sheet with instructions for renewing my e-mail account and setting up a password. I did both, happy to discover no one had realized that this would serve as a way for me to communicate with Lissa. Too tired to write to her now, I was about to turn everything off when I noticed I already had a message. From Janine Hathaway. It was short:**

**I'm glad you're back. What you did was inexcusable.**

"I'm glad my book self is the same." said my mother. I narrowed my eyes.

**"Love you too, Mom," I muttered, shutting it all down.**

My mother narrowed her eyes this time.

**When I went to bed afterward, I passed out before even hitting the pillow, and just as Dimitri had predicted, I felt ten times worse when I woke up the next morning.**

"I hate you being right." I said.

**Lying there in bed, I reconsidered the perks of running away. Then I remembered getting my ass kicked and figured the only way to prevent that from happening again was to go endure some more of it this morning.**

"I can't believe it. Rosemarie Hathaway thought something through!AHHHH Eddie hold me!" screamed Mason jumping into Eddie's lap. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh haha,very funny" I said

"Yes I know I'm hilarious" said Mason grinning.

**My soreness made it all that much worse, but I survived the before-school practice with Dimitri and my subsequent classes without passing out or fainting.**

**At lunch, I dragged Lissa away from Natalie's table early and gave her a Kirova-worthy lecture about Christian - particularly chastising her for letting him know about our blood arrangement. If that got out, it'd kill both of us socially and I didn't trust him not to tell.**

**Lissa had other concerns.**

**"You were in my head again?" she exclaimed. "For that long?"**

**"I didn't do it on purpose," I argued. "It just happened. And that's not the point. How long did you hang out with him afterward?"**

**"Not that long. It was kind of fun."**

I didn't have to say anything,I gave her a look that said it all.

**"Well, you can't do it again. If people find out you're hanging out with him, they'll crucify you." I eyed her warily. "You aren't, like, into him, are you?"**

**She scoffed. "No. Of course not."**

I swear I saw a flicker of disappointment in Christians icy eyes.

**"Good. Because if you're going to go after a guy, steal Aaron back." He was boring, yes, but safe. Just like Natalie. How come all the harmless people were so lame? Maybe that was the definition of safe.**

**She laughed. "Mia would claw my eyes out."**

"You bet your ass I would." said Mia.

"Language Miss Rinaldi!" said Kirova trying to maintain some kind of order in here.

**"We can take her. Besides, he deserves someone who doesn't shop at Gap Kids."**

"I don't shop at Gap Kids!" yelled Mia.

"Sure sweetie" I said with a sickly sweet smile.

**"Rose, you've got to stop saying things like that."**

**"I'm just saying what you won't."**

**"She's only a year younger," said Lissa. She laughed. "I can't believe you think I'm the one who's going to get us in trouble."**

"Really Rose" muttered Eddie.

**Smiling as we strolled toward class, I gave her a sidelong glance. "Aaron does look pretty good though, huh?"**

**She smiled back and avoided my eyes. "Yeah. Pretty good."**

Mia looked like she was about to kill us.

**"Ooh. You see? You should go after him."**

**"Whatever. I'm fine being friends now."**

**"Friends who used to stick their tongues down each other's throats."**

"Rose have you no shame?" asked Mason with a shake of his head.

**She rolled her eyes.**

**"Fine." I let my teasing go. "Let Aaron stay in the nursery school. Just so long as you stay away from Christian. He's dangerous."**

**"You're overreacting. He's not going Strigoi."**

**"He's a bad influence."**

**She laughed. "You think I'm in danger of going Strigoi?"**

"I'm not that bad" muttered Christian.

**She didn't wait for my answer, instead pushing ahead to open the door to our science class. Standing there, I uneasily replayed her words and then followed a moment later. When I did, I got to see royal power in action. A few guys - with giggling, watching girls - were messing with a gangly-looking Moroi. I didn't know him very well, but I knew he was poor and certainly not royal. A couple of his tormentors were air-magic users, and they'd blown the papers off his desk and were pushing them around the room on currents of air while the guy tried to catch them.**

**My instincts urged me to do something, maybe go smack one of the air users. But I couldn't pick a fight with everyone who annoyed me, and certainly not a group of royals - especially when Lissa needed to stay off their radar. So I could only give them a look of disgust as I walked to my desk. As I did, a hand caught my arm. Jesse.**

Ahh Jesse,I wonder how he is**.**

**"Hey," I said jokingly. Fortunately, he didn't appear to be participating in the torture session. "Hands off the merchandise."**

**He flashed me a smile but kept his hand on me. "Rose, tell Paul about the time you started the fight in Ms. Karp's class."**

**I cocked my head toward him, giving him a playful smile. "I started a lot of fights in her class."**

**"The one with the hermit crab. And the gerbil."**

"Ahh I remember that! Awesome times,awesome times..." Said Mason.

**I laughed, recalling it. "Oh yeah. It was a hamster, I think. I just dropped it into the crab's tank, and they were both worked up from being so close to me, so they went at it."**

**Paul, a guy sitting nearby whom I didn't really know, chuckled too. He'd transferred last year, apparently, and hadn't heard of this. "Who won?"**

**I looked at Jesse quizzically. "I don't remember. Do you?"**

"I remember! The gerbil won it was a freaking munant gerbil! It destroyed the crab." Yelled Eddie Laughing.

**"No. I just remember Karp freaking out." He turned toward Paul. "Man, you should have seen this messed-up teacher we used to have. Used to think people were after her and would go off on stuff that didn't make any sense. She was nuts. Used to wander campus while everyone was asleep."**

I wonder where is today...

**I smiled tightly, like I thought it was funny. Instead, I thought back to Ms. Karp again, surprised to be thinking about her for the second time in two days. Jesse was right - she had wandered campus a lot when she still worked here. It was pretty creepy. I'd run into her once - unexpectedly.**

**I'd been climbing out of my dorm window to go hang out with some people.**

"Honestly Rose." said my mom with her head in her hands.

**It was after hours, and we were all supposed to be in our rooms, fast asleep. Such escape tactics were a regular practice for me. I was good at them.**

**But I fell that time. I had a second-floor room, and I lost my grip about halfway down. Sensing the ground rush up toward me, I tried desperately to grab hold of something and slow my fall. The building's rough stone tore into my skin, causing cuts I was too preoccupied to feel. I slammed into the grassy earth, back first, getting the wind knocked out of me.**

Yeah that was a bad idea...

**"Bad form, Rosemarie. You should be more careful. Your instructors would be disappointed."**

"Gotta love sarcasm..." muttered Adrian.

**Peering through the tangle of my hair, I saw Ms. Karp looking down at me, a bemused look on her face. Pain, in the meantime, shot through every part of my body.**

**Ignoring it as best I could, I clambered to my feet. Being in class with Crazy Karp**

"Rose it's not nice to call people crazy" said my mother said with a dissaproving look.

**while surrounded by other students was one thing. Standing outside alone with her was an entirely different matter.** **She always had an eerie, distracted gleam in her eye that made my skin break out in goose bumps.**

**There was also now a high likelihood she'd drag me off to Kirova for a detention. Scarier still.**

**Instead, she just smiled and reached for my hands. I flinched but let her take them. She tsked when she saw the scrapes. Tightening her grip on them, she frowned slightly. A tingle burned my skin, laced with a sort of pleasant buzz, and then the wounds closed up. I had a brief sense of dizziness. My temperature spiked. The blood disappeared, as did the pain in my hip and leg.**

"What the hell was that!" Yelled Mason and Eddie. Adrian just smilied.

**Gasping, I jerked my hands away. I'd seen a lot of Moroi magic, but never anything like that.**

**"What what did you do?"**

**She gave me that weird smile again. "Go back to your dorm, Rose. There are bad things out here. You never know what's following you."**

**I was still staring at my hands. "But "**

**I looked back up at her and for the first time noticed scars on the sides of her forehead. Like nails had dug into them. She winked. "I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me."**

"You should've immediately said something Rose" tsked Kirova.

**I jumped back to the present, unsettled by the memory of that bizarre night. Jesse, in the meantime, was telling me about a party.**

**"You've got to slip your leash tonight. We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight thirty. Mark got some weed."**

Kirova gasped.

"I must get out of here! I can't let children smoke those drugs!" She got up banging on the door for a good 10 minutes before she realized it was no use,we were stuck.

**I sighed wistfully, regret replacing the chill I'd felt over the memory of Ms. Karp. "Can't slip that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer."**

"And now I'm a jailer. I have a pretty exciting life" said Dimitri.

**He let go of my arm, looking disappointed, and ran a hand through his bronze-colored hair. Yeah. Not being able to hang out with him was a damned shame. I really would have to fix that someday.**

"Rose" Said my mother giving me a "You better not be stupid" look. I rolled my eyes.

"Can't** you ever get off for good behavior?" he joked.**

**I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. "Sure," I called over my shoulder. "If I was ever good."**

"Naughty naughty little dhampir" said Adrian grinning.

"Oh shut that hole in your head Ivashkov and give the book to Mason" I yelled holding up a paintball,I scared him enough he handed it off.

* * *

**Hate it? Like it? Review and Let me know **

* * *

**OK! the first 6 chapters before i took my hiatus! I might take more time writing chapters as i am now a junior:O and have a little more writing skill [though my spelling can still suck somtimes] but i'll try to update once a week! Anyways, thanks for reading guys, I can't wait to get back into this! I missed writing so much. See you next update :)**

**-Lexa**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n: OK! You guys are in luck because i got sick today :D not good for me but it means I've had PLENTY of time to write! (ya know, when i'm not throwing up...) so yeah! lets continue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own vampire academy :( Though if I ever get enough money I plan to buy it just so I can say that I DO own it :) **

**ps: I'm sorry if the characters sound different or anything, it's been so long since I wrote that I forgot a few... ok a lot of things, just hang with me guys!**

**pss: there might be some weird lines or stuff in here but that's cause I have a couple friends reading and threw in a few inside jokes for them! So Kayla and Danielle you better be happy I'm twisting richelle mead's characters for your enjoyment ;p **

Mason grinned excitedly as he grabbed the book from Adrian, quickly turning the page and reading in a booming voice, trying to be funny

**A COUPLE WEEKS PASSED AFTER that, and I soon forgot about the Anna thing as life at the Academy wrapped around me. The shock of our return had worn off a little, and we began to fall into a semi-comfortable routine.**

_"Nothing will be as comfortable as living freely and alone with Lissa" _I decided in my head.

**My days revolved around church, **

I groaned. Look I didn't hate religions or anything, but you couldn't get much more boring then church.

**lunch with Lissa, and whatever sort of social life I could scrape together outside of that. Denied any real free time, I didn't have too hard a time staying out of the spotlight, although I did manage to steal a little attention here**

My mother sighed

"Ah Rose, can't you just fall into the background for once like guardians are supposed to do?" She asked, shaking her head slightly. I ignored her, as usual. I tried not to let her disappointment sting me as it often did.

**and there, despite my noble speech to her about 'coasting through the middle.' I couldn't help it. I liked flirting, I liked groups, and I liked making smartass comments in class.**

"Well well well, not that complex are we, little dhampir? Hmmm?" Said Adrian, pulling out clove cigarette from his coat pocket. I look disbelievingly

"Where did you get those?" I demand. He shrugs indifferently.

"Had em for a while, haven't really felt the need for one until now" He grins at me, lighting it up. I crinkle my nose at the smell. Ugh, it had to be cigerattes. I turn to Mason and motion for him to continue.

**Her new, incognito role attracted attention simply because it was so different than before we'd left, back when she'd been so active with the royals. Most people soon let that go, accepting that the Dragomir princess was fading off the social radar and content to run with Natalie and her group. Natalie's rambling still made me want to beat my head against a wall sometimes,**

"Now rose, why would you wanna hurt that pretty head of yours?" Mason says, wiggling his eyebrows at me

"Maybe because there's nothing up there to protect" laughs Eddie. I simply reach into my little bag and with the flick of a wrist, he to is covered in paint splatter like Adrian. Eddie stops laughing and looks at me disbelievingly, stopping half a second to glare at Mason who is on the floor laughing. Almost everybody in the room is just sighing and shaking there heads at us. It takes Mason 10 minutes, and Eddie slapping him to stop laughing, though i'm not sure what was so funny about it. He takes a deep breath and continues.

**but she was really nice - nicer than almost any of the other royals - and I enjoyed hanging around her most of the time.**

**And, just as Kirova had warned, I was indeed training and working out all the time. But as more time passed, my body stopped hating me. My muscles grew tougher, and my stamina increased. I still got my ass kicked in practice **

Mason read this line with pride, I rolled my eyes.

**but not quite as badly as I used to, which was something. The biggest toll now seemed to be on my skin. Being outside in the cold so much was chapping my face, and only Lissa's constant supply of skin-care lotions kept me from aging before my time. She couldn't do much for the blisters on my hands and feet.**

**A routine also developed with Dimitri and me. Mason had been right about him being antisocial.**

"I'm not that bad! Am I?" Yelled Dimitri, actually having the ability to look a little embarrassed when nobody answered, though like most looks, it didn't last long before it was replaced by the stone face. Is it me or has that face been weakening a little since we got here? Hmmm...

**Dimitri didn't hang out much with the other guardians, though it was clear they all respected him.**

Dimitri's family looked on him with pride.

**And the more I worked with him, the more I respected him too, though I didn't really understand his training methods. They didn't seem very badass. **

"Because everybody knows Rose Hathway has to even have her training be badass" grins Mason

"Well c'mon! It's training! It's supposed to be friggn badass!" I grumble-yelled, not even sure how I grumble-yelled. I need to get out of this place soon, It's hurting my head.

**We always started by stretching in the gym, and lately he'd been sending me outside to run, braving the increasingly cold Montana autumn.**

**Three weeks after my return to the Academy, I walked into the gym before school one day and found him sprawled on a mat, reading a Louis L'Amour book. Someone had brought in a portable CD player, and while that cheered me up at first, the song coming from it did not: "When Doves Cry" by Prince. It was embarrassing to know the title, but one of our former housemates had been obsessed with the '80s.**

Lissa groaned as she too recalled this

"Worst housemate ever." She declared, and I couldn't disagree. It wasn't really his taste in music as much as _him._ Sloppy, dirty, disgusting. Ugh, sometimes I don't understand humans even though I'm half one.

**"Whoa, Dimitri," I said, tossing my bag on the floor. "I realize this is actually a current hit in Eastern Europe right now, but do you think we could maybe listen to something that wasn't recorded before I was born?**

Dimitri spared a look at me

"My music's not that bad" he declared, almost sounding offended. I simply innocently grinned

**Only his eyes flicked toward me; the rest of his posture remained the same. "What does it matter to you? I'm the one who's going to be listening to it. You'll be outside running."**

**I made a face as I set my foot up on one of the bars and stretched my hamstrings. All things considered, Dimitri had a good-natured tolerance for my snarkiness.**

"So a skill I haven't mastered yet" He mutters. I cross my arms, huffing a little bit. I know I'm a little hard to put up with but everybody seems like it's so bad.

**So long as I didn't slack in my training, he didn't mind my running commentary.**

**"Hey," I asked, moving on to the next set of stretches, "what's with all the running, anyway? I mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little hitting? They're still killing me in group practice."**

**"Maybe you should hit harder," he replied drily.**

**"I'm serious."**

**"Hard to tell the difference." He set the book down but didn't move from his sprawl. "My job is to get you ready to defend the princess and fight dark creatures, right?"**

**"Yup."**

**"So tell me this: suppose you manage to kidnap her again and take her off to the mall. While you're there, a Strigoi comes at you. What will you do?"**

**"Depends on what store we're in."**

"Oh Rose" Says practically everybody in the room, who knows me well, at the same time. I look around and throw my hands up in the air.

"C'mon! You know this isn't abnormal for me!" I sigh, burying my head in my hands.

**He looked at me.**

**"Fine. I'll stab him with a silver stake."**

"It's not that simple" says almost every guardian in the room.

"Ok if you all could quite doing the freaky 'more then one person says the same thing at the same time' thing that would be great" says Christian, looking a little freaked out.

**Dimitri sat up now, crossing his long legs in one fluid motion. I still couldn't figure out how someone so tall could be so graceful. "Oh?" He raised his dark eyebrows. "Do you have a silver stake? Do you even know how to use one?"**

**I dragged my eyes away from his body and scowled. Made with elemental magic, silver stakes were a guardian's deadliest weapon. Stabbing a Strigoi through the heart with one meant instant death. The blades were also lethal to Moroi, so they weren't given out lightly to novices. My classmates had just started learning how to use them. I'd trained with a gun before, but no one would let me near a stake yet. Fortunately, there were two other ways to kill a Strigoi.**

I was captivated by the book. Yes yes of course i knew all this, but hearing about it, hearing about how one day I'll get to protect Lissa, it makes my breathing pick up, it makes my heart race, it gets me excited. It gives me a reason to want to learn more.

**"Okay. I'll cut his head off."**

**"Ignoring the fact that you don't have a weapon to do that, how will you compensate for the fact that he may be a foot taller than you?"**

**I straightened up from touching my toes, annoyed. "Fine, then I'll set him on fire."**

**"Again, with what?"**

**"All right, I give up. You've already got the answer. You're just messing with me. I'm at the mall and I see a Strigoi. What do I do?"**

**He looked at me and didn't blink. "You run."**

Every novice in the room looked dumbstruck. Well every person my age or younger looked dumb stuck. I see Sydney make the slightest movement to open her mouth, then quickly shut it as if she realized she was about to make a huge mistake. Though Eddie and Mason didn't hesitate to talk.

"What do you mean run?!" yelled Mason.

"We've been taught our whole lives to fight, not run!" Yells Eddie.

Guardian Petrov and Dimitri consider this a few minutes before Guardian Petrov finally speaks up.

"Well yes, this is true, but you must remember that you are only novices, and while stronger then humans, it still might be hard to take on strigoi. Your best option, when untrained like rose is in the book-" She quickly adds "In the book" seeing me open my mouth, though my bookself is trained more then my regular self.

"- Your best option would be to run. You wouldn't wanna risk it, especially with no ways to kill it." She finishes, her eyes alight with fire seeing us think this over. She is right, but I would never admit it. I have too much pride to admit it, maybe I have a little too much pride though.

**I repressed the urge to throw something at him.**

Mason and Eddie burst out laughing at this.

"After something so serious only rose would think this!" giggles Mason. I mean he really_ giggles. _The first thing I'm doing when were out of here is putting him and Eddie in straight jackets and shipping them to some abandoned island where they can laugh and eat coconuts all they like. Hmmm coconuts sounds nice right about now actually...

**When I finished my stretches, he told me he'd run with me. That was a first. Maybe running would give me some insight into his killer reputation.**

"Killer reputation?" Asked Dimitri. I rolled my eyes and looked at Mason.

"Continue please." I say.

**We set out into the chilly October evening. Being back on a vampiric schedule still felt weird to me. With school about to start in an hour, I expected the sun to be coming up, not down.**

Mason and Eddie looked at me and Lissa.

"What was it like living on a human schedule?" they asked, looking legitly curious.

"It was... weird" Lissa said at last.

"Well at first it was, we eventually got used to it, but I kinda like our schedule better" I say, and i see everybody agreeing, except Sydney, who still looks very uncomfortable with us. I wish I knew why she was here, or why she had that golden lily tattooed on her cheek...

**But it was sinking on the western horizon, lighting up the snow-capped mountains with an orange glow. It didn't really warm things up, and I soon felt the cold pierce my lungs as my need for oxygen deepened. We didn't speak. He slowed his pace to match mine, so we stayed together.**

**Something about that bothered me; I suddenly very much wanted his approval.**

The room went dead silent, including me. Excluding Lissa, I've never wanted _anybody's _approval. I spare a look at Dimitri and imagine were back at this school and this book is happening and... and suddenly it's not so hard to picture me wanting his approval. I still don't understand it but suddenly I _do_ want his approval.

**So I picked up my own pace, working my lungs and muscles harder. Twelve laps around the track made three miles; we had nine more to go.**

**When we reached the third-to-last loop, a couple of other novices passed by, preparing to go to the group practice I'd soon be at as well. Seeing me, Mason cheered. "Good form, Rose!"**

I beamed a little. Mason cheering me on had to be good, right? Dimitri still looked unimpressed and that made me dim a little

**I smiled and waved back.**

**"You're slowing down," Dimitri snapped, jerking my gaze from the boys. The harshness in his voice startled me. "Is this why your times aren't getting any faster? You're easily distracted?"**

I try not to blush in real life. I'm not _easily distracted_. I take a deep breath. I don't know why I care so much what he thinks, but I do.

**Embarrassed, I increased my speed once more, despite the fact that my body started screaming obscenities at me. We finished the twelve laps, and when he checked, he found we'd shaved two minutes off my best time.**

**"Not bad, huh?" I crowed when we headed back inside for cool-down stretches. "Looks like I could get as far as the Limited before the Strigoi got me at the mall. Not sure how Lissa would do."**

**"If she was with you, she'd be okay."**

Even Mason and Eddie looked impressed.

"Well Dimitri, I do believe you just complimented Rose Hathaway" Grinned Mason. Dimitri didn't looked that surprised. Me? I was back to beaming.

**I looked up in surprise. It was the first real compliment he'd paid me since I started training with him. His brown eyes watched me, both approving and amused.**

**And that's when it happened.**

You could almost _feel_ everybody in the room tense. Not good.

**I felt like someone had shot me. Sharp and biting, terror exploded in my body and in my head. Small razors of pain. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I wasn't standing there. I was running down a flight of stairs, scared and desperate, needing to get out of there, needing to find…me.**

"What the hell is going on?" asked Adrian. I looked at Lissa and we were both having the same thought.

_Nothing good._

**My vision cleared, leaving me back on the track and out of Lissa's head. **

Nobody in the room knew how to react. They wanted to be relieved for me, but worried for Lissa. Everybody was on the edge of their seat, listening to every word Mason read.

**Without a word to Dimitri, I tore off, running as fast as I could toward the Moroi dorm. It didn't matter that I'd just put my legs through a mini-marathon. They ran hard and fast, like they were shiny and new. Distantly, I was aware of Dimitri catching up to me, asking me what was wrong. But I couldn't answer him. I had one task and one alone: get to the dorm.**

**Its looming, ivy-covered form was just coming into view when Lissa met up with us, her face streaked with tears. I came to a jarring stop, my lungs ready to burst.**

**"What's wrong? What happened?" I demanded, clutching her arms, forcing her to look into my eyes.**

**But she couldn't answer. She just flung her arms around me, sobbing into my chest. I held her there, stroking her sleek, silky hair while I told her it was going to be all right - whatever 'it' was. And honestly, I didn't care what it was just then. She was here, and she was safe, which was all that mattered. **

You could hear everybody sigh in the room. Everything might no be ok, but Lissa was safe. My bookself was right, that's all that mattered.

**Dimitri hovered over us, alert and ready for any threat, his body coiled to attack. I felt safe with him beside us.**

**A half hour later, we were crammed inside Lissa's dorm room with three other guardians, Ms. Kirova, and the hall matron. This was the first time I'd seen Lissa's room. Natalie had indeed managed to get her as a roommate, and the two sides of the room were a study in contrasts. Natalie's looked lived in, with pictures on the wall and a frilly bedspread that wasn't dorm-issue. Lissa had as few possessions as I did, making her half noticeably bare. She did have one picture taped to the wall, a picture taken from last Halloween, when we'd dressed up like fairies, complete with wings and glittery makeup. Seeing that picture and remembering how things used to be made a dull pain form in my chest.**

Lissa scooted closer to me and grabbed my hand, smiling. It's nice to know I'm not alone, I'll always have her.

**With all the excitement, no one seemed to remember that I wasn't supposed to be in there. Outside in the hall, other Moroi girls crowded together, trying to figure out what was going on. Natalie pushed her way through them, wondering what the commotion in her room was. When she discovered it, she came to a screeching halt.**

**Shock and disgust showed on almost everyone's faces as we stared at Lissa's bed. There was a fox on the pillow.**

Little blonde bitch Mia looked thrown off, more so then everybody else.

"I,for one, think foxes are _adorable_! Shows how much you people know!." She announced, her nose so high up in the air I was tempted to see if I could bend her backwards and shove it up her ass. I stayed calm though, because I didn't need to look any worse then I have been.

**Its coat was reddish-orange, tinged in white. It looked so soft and cuddly that it could have been a pet, perhaps a cat, something you'd hold in your arms and snuggle with.**

**Aside from the fact that its throat had been slit.**

Everybody in the room gasped. Who would be so horrible to leave Lissa a dead fox? I smirked a little at Mia's dumbstruck face.

_Not so adorable now little miss priss?_ I thought.

**The inside of the throat looked pink and jellylike. Blood stained that soft coat and had run down onto the yellow bedspread, forming a dark pool that spread across the fabric. The fox's eyes stared upward, glazed, over with a sort of shocked look about them, like the fox couldn't believe this was happening.**

Everybody started to look sick, the little morori girl ran from the room to the bathroom and I could vaguely hear her puking. Poor kid, it sucks when you don't have a strong stomach.

**Nausea built up in my stomach, but I forced myself to keep looking. I couldn't afford to be squeamish. I'd be killing Strigoi someday. If I couldn't handle a fox, I'd never survive major kills.**

**What had happened to the fox was sick and twisted, obviously done by someone too fucked up for words. Lissa stared at it, her face death-pale, and took a few steps toward it, hand involuntarily reaching out. This gross act hit her hard, I knew, digging at her love of animals. She loved them, they loved her. While on our own, she'd often begged me for a pet, but I'd always refused and reminded her we couldn't take care of one when we might have to flee at a moment's notice. Plus, they hated me.**

You could see Mason, Adrian, and Eddie wanted to laugh at make a joke at this, but even he knew it wasn't the right time.

**So she'd contented herself with helping and patching up strays she found and making friends with other people's pets, like Oscar the cat.**

**She couldn't patch this fox up, though. There was no coming back for it, but I saw in her face she wanted to help it, like she helped everything. I took her hand and steered her away, suddenly recalling a conversation from two years ago.**

**"What is that? Is it a crow?"**

**"Too big. It's a raven."**

**"Is it dead?"**

**"Yeah. Definitely dead. Don't touch it."**

**She hadn't listened to me back then. I hoped she would now.**

Everybody looked around and Lissa was just starring at her hands. I hoped nobody would ask why she touched it.

**"It was still alive when I got back," Lissa whispered to me, clutching my arm. "Barely. Oh God, it was twitching. It must have suffered so much."**

**I felt bile rise in my throat now. Under no circumstances would I throw up. "Did you - ?"**

**"No. I wanted to…I started to…"**

**"Then forget about it," I said sharply. "It's stupid. Somebody's stupid joke. They'll clean it up. Probably even give you a new room if you want."**

**She turned to me, eyes almost wild. "Rose…do you remember…that one time…"**

**"Stop it," I said. "Forget about it. This isn't the same thing."**

**"What if someone saw? What if someone knows?…"**

People in the room were starting to raise eyebrows. Questions were going to be asked. I shut my eyes tightly.

_Please, please not now. Please_

**I tightened my grip on her arm, digging my nails in to get her attention. She flinched. "No. It's not the same. It has nothing to do with that. Do you hear me?" I could feel both Natalie and Dimitri's eyes on us. "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."**

**Not looking like she believed me at all, Lissa nodded.**

**"Get this cleaned up," Kirova snapped to the matron. "And find out if anyone saw anything."**

**Someone finally realized I was there and ordered Dimitri to take me away, no matter how much I begged them to let me stay with Lissa.**

I did get a little angry at this. With Lissa in this state I should be with her. She needed me there.

**He walked me back to the novices' dorm. He didn't speak until we were almost there. "You know something. Something about what happened. Is this what you meant when you told Headmistress Kirova that Lissa was in danger?"**

"Because dead fox's are so dangerous" I whispered jokingly, though the humor in my voice was nonexistent.

**"I don't know anything. It's just some sick joke."**

**"Do you have any idea who'd do it? Or why?"**

**I considered this. Before we'd left, it could have been any number of people. That was the way it was when you were popular. People loved you, people hated you. But now? Lissa had faded off to a certain extent. The only person who really and truly despised her was Mia,**

"You think I did this?!" screamed Mia. I didn't answer. I wasn't ruling out _anybody_ yet.

**but Mia seemed to fight her battles with words, not actions.**

Mia relaxed a little at this, though I still didn't count her out in my head.

**And even if she did decide to do something more aggressive, why do this? She didn't seem like the type. There were a million other ways to get back at a person. "No," I told him. "No clue."**

**"Rose, if you know something, tell me. We're on the same side. We both want to protect her. This is serious."**

**I spun around, taking my anger over the fox out on him. "Yeah, it is serious. It's all serious. And you have me doing laps every day when I should be learning to fight and defend her! If you want to help her, then teach me something! Teach me how to fight. I already know how to run away."**

I froze at this. Is that all I really know?

**I didn't realize until that moment how badly I did want to learn, how I wanted to prove myself to him, to Lissa, and to everyone else. The fox incident had made me feel powerless, and I didn't like that. I wanted to do something, anything.**

Everybody looked at me with different emotions, but I didn't care to look. I hope this book proves me to be more then i am...

**Dimitri watched my outburst calmly, with no change in his expression. When I finished, he simply beckoned me forward like I hadn't said anything. "Come on. You're late for practice."**

Mason looked up at everybody, closing the book.

"I think we need a break" he says. Nobody agrees, nobody disagrees. But still everybody gets up and heads to different parts of the house. The small morori girl, and Sydney and Mia run straight to their rooms, Dimitri and his family walk to some other room in the house, the guardians use this time to inspect the house a bit more, Mason and Eddie just walk somewhere talking about somthing, Adrian walks to the kitchen, mumbling something about "Needing a drink", Christian following silently behind him. And me and Lissa? For once she comforts me. She holds me and rocks me as i get lost in my own thoughts.

**So yeah the end of the chapter. So it turned out to be darker and stuff then I imagined, but it's been a bad day and it kind of fell into my work. So yeah gonna try and only write on good days. K. Have a good day... Bye.**

**-Lexa**

**ps: if you wanna make me happier for the next chapter, please review, it helps me a lot and gets me going (:**


	8. AN

**Yeah just an A/N today, sorry D: But as many of you guys have noticed, and pointed out ;p, I accidently skipped a chapter. Now as I mentioned, many times last chapter, I was kinda sick and out of it when I wrote it and I didn't notice I until you guys pointed it out. Well I wanna fix it, but I honestly don't know how to do it now. Should I just backtrack to before they read chapter 7(meaning it would be before they read it, i would delete the chapter to put it in proper order? Or realize they missed a chapter and go read it? You guys put some input onto this, I feel so stupid not realizing I missed the chapter, you should've seen my facepalm when I realized my mistake. So yeah, I'm real sorry I didn't realize my mistake sooner and...yeah...have a good day, hugs and cookies for all...bye.**

**-Lexa**


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